Bill Pulte, the acting Director of National Intelligence, announced a 30 percent staff reduction at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Tuesday, hours before the Senate was scheduled to vote on his permanent replacement. Pulte said the agency was executing “a 5th and Near Final Round of TERMINATIONS, an approximately 30% Staff Reduction from Weeks Ago,” according to reporting from Bloomberg and Forbes.
The announcement marked the latest in a series of sweeping personnel cuts since Pulte assumed the role on June 19, 2026. Each round of layoffs has targeted officials across the intelligence coordination hub, which oversees 18 U.S. intelligence agencies and serves as the primary intelligence advisor to the president.
The Senate was set to vote on Jay Clayton, Trump’s nominee to become the permanent director of national intelligence, on Tuesday evening. Clayton, a former chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission and current U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, had overcome a procedural hurdle on Monday and was expected to be confirmed, according to CNBC. His confirmation would end Pulte’s controversial tenure atop the agency, which featured multiple rounds of personnel reductions.
Pulte’s appointment as acting DNI in early June drew immediate criticism from Democrats and some national security experts, who noted his lack of intelligence experience. Before the role, Pulte served as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, overseeing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. His background is in housing and private equity, not intelligence operations.
The cuts at ODNI are part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to reduce the federal workforce. President Trump publicly urged Pulte to carry out the reductions, telling the Wall Street Journal in early June that he wanted Pulte to “start the process” of firing personnel at the intelligence office. Trump stated that intelligence staffing levels had been “way too high for too long,” according to reporting from Notus.
In prior rounds of layoffs, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence shed hundreds of staff members through both terminations and reassignments to their home agencies. A Washington Post report from July 23 indicated the agency had quietly cut about 200 jobs since June 1, though it remained unclear how many were attributed to Pulte’s tenure versus earlier reductions.
The timing of Pulte’s announcement—just hours before Clayton’s Senate confirmation vote—underscores the political stakes surrounding the intelligence leadership transition. Democrats expressed preference for Clayton over Pulte, with lawmakers eager to move past what they characterized as a turbulent period. Clayton’s confirmation would allow the agency to begin stabilizing under permanent leadership after months of rapid organizational change.
Sources
- Bloomberg — Pulte’s announcement of the 30% staff reduction and the fifth round of terminations
- Forbes — Details on the fifth round of terminations and the 30% reduction figure
- CNBC — Senate vote on Jay Clayton scheduled for Tuesday evening, his background, and expected confirmation
- The New York Times — Pulte’s final hours as acting DNI and the staff reductions
- Politico — Pulte’s announcement and commentary on the dramatic cuts
- The Hill — Details on the fifth round of layoffs and Clayton’s pending confirmation
- Washington Post — Prior intelligence agency job cuts and the 200-person reduction since June 1
- Notus — Trump’s directive to Pulte and the characterization of intelligence staffing levels
- Federal News Network — ODNI staff reductions and Pulte’s role as acting director
