IC Workforce & Organization — 2026-05-31

Former NSC Chief of Staff Argues Next DNI Should Abolish ODNI Entirely After Gabbard Cuts 40 Percent of Staff

BLUFFormal legislative or executive action to abolish ODNI is very unlikely within 12 months, as Gabbard's staffing cuts and Ratcliffe's advisory role already deliver the functional outcomes abolition proponents seek.

Fred Fleitz, former NSC Chief of Staff and America First Policy Institute vice chair, argued in American Greatness on May 29 that Trump's next DNI should abolish the ODNI entirely rather than cut it further 12. Gabbard's "ODNI 2.0" initiative reduced staff more than 40 percent to roughly 1,300, closed the Foreign Malign Influence Center, and projected over $700 million in annual savings before her June 30 resignation 12. Fleitz contends CIA Director Ratcliffe's service as Trump's de facto principal intelligence adviser makes the DNI position redundant, and dismisses Sen. Tom Cotton's bill capping ODNI at 650 staff as an insufficient half-measure 1. The piece calls for transferring ODNI functions to the CIA, NSA, and FBI and repealing relevant sections of the 2004 Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act 12.

Analysis
Executive support for abolition has not materialized: formal administration backing for repealing the 2004 IRPTA is very unlikely within 12 months, and no White House or congressional principal has endorsed it. Cotton's 650-cap bill holds the visible legislative lane, and Ratcliffe's de facto senior advisory role already satisfies the functional argument without statutory change. Low analytic confidence applies, grounded in a single American Greatness opinion piece with no corroborating executive or legislative signals. Fleitz may be positioning for the next DNI appointment rather than reflecting administration intent. Workforce planners and Hill staff should model against incremental reduction, not statutory abolition, until a principal publicly endorses the position.

2 sources

The Next DNI Must Finish the Job and Eliminate the ODNI - American Greatness
The Next DNI Must Finish the Job and Eliminate the ODNI - Ruthfully Yours