Pulte Seeks Major Cuts In First Day As Intel Chief

Donald Trump’s new acting director of national intelligence is ordering cuts on his very first day on the job, as he moves aggressively to carry out the president’s mandate to shrink the country’s national intelligence apparatus.

Bill Pulte, who officially started at the intelligence coordination hub Friday, directed ODNI staff late Thursday to pull together a list of about 300 candidates to be fired from the National Counterterrorism Center in the coming weeks, per two people with knowledge of the plans, granted anonymity due to fear of persecution. The NCTC is "staffed by more than 1,000 personnel from across the IC, the Federal government, and Federal contractors," according to ODNI's website.

The move comes just days after Trump intervened to block a Senate push to speedily confirm his full-time DNI choice, Jay Clayton, on Wednesday, ensuring that Pulte would have a turn running the agency. Trump ordered Republicans not to move on Clayton’s nomination until his own replacement is successfully installed as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.

The choice of Pulte, a Trump ally who comes to ODNI with no prior national security or intelligence experience, has frozen the bipartisan push to extend Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Democrats say they won’t vote for it with Pulte at the helm of the agency.

But Pulte — and Trump — are determined to enact major changes at the agency.

The agency has already seen its ranks shrink massively since Trump’s return to the White House last year. In August 2025, former Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced plans to slash 40 percent of the agency’s staff, saying the move would save more than $700 million a year.

But Trump has far steeper cuts on his mind. He told The Wall Street Journal in an early June interview that he wants Pulte to fire “a lot of people” and that leading the office in only an acting capacity would give Pulte more power to instill change, albeit temporarily.

CNN first reported Pulte had asked Thursday for a list of ODNI staff as he eyes major job cuts.

A person with knowledge of Pulte’s thinking said he is irate about possible leaks, and is now intent on firing those who worked closely with Gabbard, whom he blames for them. The person also said Pulte has spoken to Clayton about firing Gabbard holdovers, and Clayton did not object.

The White House and ODNI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Pulte gained notoriety in Washington while serving as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, where he urged the Department of Justice to investigate several of the president’s opponents for mortgage fraud. Trump has said he will continue on in that role while at ODNI.

Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said in a statement that the reports “demonstrate why he should never spend a minute as Director of National Intelligence, a role he is legally not qualified to perform.”

“Mr. Pulte should expect the Intelligence Committee to closely scrutinize any actions he takes in what should be a very short period in this role, to include any personnel decisions or declassifications,” Himes said.