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Trump wants Bill Pulte to fire big chunk of national intelligence office staff: WSJ

Trump said Bill Pulte should begin cutting staff at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which oversees 18 agencies and had about 1,800 employees.

  • President Donald Trump urged incoming acting intelligence chief Bill Pulte to begin mass firings, revealing in a Friday interview that he explicitly ordered a sweeping personnel shake-up within the nation's intelligence apparatus.
  • Trump described the DNI's office as "unnecessary and or too big," telling Pulte he believes many employees—specifically holdovers from the Biden and Obama administrations—should not remain.
  • The president asserted that Pulte’s temporary "acting" status makes him "less shackled" to execute rapid cuts, explaining that an interim chief holds unique leverage to clear out personnel and do the "hard work" so a future permanent nominee isn't saddled with the burden.
  • Pulte's sudden appointment earlier this week triggered widespread bipartisan alarm, with Democrats and key Senate Republicans heavily criticizing his complete lack of prior experience in intelligence, counterterrorism, or national security policy.
  • Critics fear the administration is weaponizing the intelligence infrastructure, pointing directly to Pulte's aggressive history as Federal Housing Finance Agency chief, where he routinely used agency data to launch criminal fraud referrals against prominent Trump political rivals.
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Lean Left

Donald Trump, who temporarily entrusted the leadership of the American secret services to an inexperienced close friend, Bill Pulte, said on Friday in an interview with The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) that the latter is "less constrained" because he was only appointed temporarily, and would like to fire several of the intelligence community employees.

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Lean Right

After the resignation of Tulsi Gabbard as director of the intelligence services, Trump is looking for an interim solution. He finds it in the Bill Pulte, which has so far hardly appeared, and is giving it a delicate task.

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Center

Donald Trump apparently plans to either reduce or close some of the many U.S. intelligence agencies. Criticism exists about his appointment of the intelligence coordinator. According to a newspaper, US President Donald Trump wants to reduce the U.S. intelligence services. He has instructed the designated commissioner intelligence coordinator Bill Pulte to begin the dismissal of a large number of employees, Trump told the "Wall Street Journal" on…

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Reuters broke the news in New York, United States on Friday, June 5, 2026.
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