Russia and China Actively Recruiting Cleared Federal Workers Displaced by DOGE Layoffs

Russian, Chinese, and other foreign intelligence services are actively targeting U.S. federal workers who lost their jobs in DOGE-directed layoffs, according to multiple reports. Adversaries are using LinkedIn, TikTok, RedNote, and Reddit to identify recently terminated personnel with security clearances. At least one foreign intelligence officer ordered an asset to create a company LinkedIn profile with a job posting specifically to attract cleared personnel. The risk is compounded by the scale: with 300+ FBI national security agents departed, CIA buyouts ongoing, NSA down 2,000 positions, and ODNI staffing cut 20%, the pool of recently cleared, potentially disgruntled former IC personnel is historically large. 'Every former federal worker with knowledge of or access to sensitive information or systems is a potential target,' one analysis noted, 'and when thousands leave at the same time, it creates both many targets and a counterespionage challenge.'