Trump to massively downsize US intelligence agencies and announces layoffs

The agency, in his view, is "unnecessary and/or too large," Trump said. He added verbatim: "I would like it smaller. I think there are a lot of people there who don't belong there." He justified the planned staff reduction with these statements.

Pulte is set to take over leadership of the ODNI on June 30 from acting director Tulsi Gabbard. His appointment as acting director is legally limited to a maximum of 210 days. Trump also signaled on Thursday that he does not intend to nominate Pulte as permanent director.

Pulte to take over ODNI on an interim basis

Pulte is only 38 years old and currently heads the Federal Housing Finance Agency. He has no practical experience in the security or intelligence field, which has drawn sharp criticism from both Democrats and parts of the Republican party.

At a congressional hearing on Wednesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that despite his years of membership on the Senate Intelligence Committee, he had never heard the name Pulte. This statement illustrated how surprising the appointment was received in Washington.

Criticism from Democrats and parts of the Republicans

Critics accuse Pulte of having used his previous position at the housing finance agency to advance investigations into alleged mortgage fraud cases against several of Trump's political opponents. Democrats see this as a politicization of the agency.

The ODNI was created after the September 11, 2001 attacks to better coordinate the work of the then 15 domestic and foreign intelligence services. Since then, the agency's primary task has been to consolidate information from the various services and provide daily situation assessments to the President and Congress.

Which tasks will be affected remains unclear

It is currently unclear which specific areas of responsibility will be affected by the planned cuts. It also remains unclear whether the staff reduction will extend beyond the civil service to include temporary contracts or external consultants.

With this decision, Trump is intensifying the debate about the future structure of US intelligence agencies, which has been ongoing for months. Observers in Washington expect the personnel decision and the announced austerity measures to become a central point of contention between the White House and Congress in the coming weeks.

US civil liberties organizations and intelligence experts warn that radical staff reductions could weaken the US's ability to address international crises. The coming days are expected to show how far Trump intends to implement his austerity course.