IC Workforce & Organization — 2026-06-23

ODNI Firings Begin as Pulte Orders All Offices to Rank Personnel While Congressional Intelligence Leaders Warn of National Security Risk

BLUFConcentrated cuts at NCTC and NCSC will degrade post-9/11 counterterrorism and insider-threat functions faster than any successor can rebuild them, and a federal injunction before September 30 remains unlikely.

Firings began at ODNI on June 22, a source familiar with the matter told CNN, after Pulte directed all offices to submit personnel rankings by that day 1. CNN had previously reported Pulte was considering cutting hundreds of positions; two sources told the outlet the National Counterterrorism Center and National Counterintelligence and Security Center were expected to take the heaviest reductions 1. Senate Intelligence Vice Chairman Mark Warner and House Intelligence Ranking Member Jim Himes sent Pulte a formal letter the same day demanding he refrain from major personnel actions and declassification decisions while serving in an acting capacity and without consulting Congress 234. The letter also invoked statutory records-preservation requirements covering personnel actions, classified material releases, and communications conducted through personal devices or encrypted applications 2.

Analysis
Concentrating reductions at NCTC and NCSC degrades the two centers most responsible for counterterrorism coordination and insider-threat vetting, post-9/11 functions not quickly reconstituted. A federal court is unlikely to halt the reductions before September 30. Moderate confidence rests on the absence of a filed legal challenge and courts' narrow history of blocking executive personnel decisions absent a demonstrated statutory violation. The Warner-Himes letter preserves oversight leverage through records-preservation obligations but imposes no near-term constraint on Pulte's actions. With Pulte expected to serve through August, the most significant structural damage will precede any Senate-confirmed director positioned to reverse it. The ranking exercise may instead represent performative compliance with the administration's downsizing mandate rather than a prelude to mass terminations. If reductions proceed at the reported scale, component agencies must plan around permanent coordination gaps with no administrative remedy before a Senate-confirmed director takes office.

4 sources

Firings now underway at Office of Director of National Intelligence, source says - CNN
Letter to Acting DNI Pulte from Vice Chairman Warner and Ranking Member Himes - House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (Democrats)
Lawmakers Warn Acting DNI Against Using Role for Major Workforce Shakeups - Defense One
Intelligence Democrats warn Trump nominee Bill Pulte as ODNI braces for firings - The Hill