IC Workforce & Organization — 2026-06-24

Acting DNI Pulte Fires 6 ODNI Staff and Sends 45 Back to Home Agencies With 400 NCTC Cuts Planned

BLUFPulte's planned NCTC workforce cuts of roughly 400 remain genuinely uncertain within 90 days, as bipartisan congressional resistance and operational equities in counterterrorism coordination constrain execution.

Acting DNI Bill Pulte on Friday terminated six staff and returned 45 joint-duty career officials to their home agencies, three sources told CBS News and CNN 12; CNN identified the six as political appointees installed by former DNI Tulsi Gabbard 2. No NCTC personnel were included, and Pulte told deputies the 51 removals were sufficient for now, per CBS News 1. Prism News separately reported Pulte has directed staff to identify roughly 400 NCTC employees for termination in coming weeks, a round distinct from the initial 51 removals 3. Senate and House Intelligence Committee ranking members Warner and Himes sent Pulte a letter Monday warning that large-scale cuts risk jeopardizing the organization's post-9/11 coordination mission, according to CNN and CBS News 12.

Analysis
Formal separation actions affecting 200 or more NCTC employees within 90 days remain genuinely uncertain. Pulte holds a documented presidential mandate and has tasked staff to identify candidates, but NCTC's core counterterrorism functions represent institutional friction that has historically absorbed comparable ODNI reform proposals before completion. Moderate confidence reflects the corroborating weight across outlets set against the absence of primary-source reporting on internal execution timelines. Republican alignment on NCTC's operational capacity and the Section 702 lapse both create countervailing pressure, constraining the political viability of executing full cuts within the window.

4 sources