IC Workforce & Organization — 2026-06-23

Acting DNI Pulte Begins Sweeping ODNI Firings, Targets Hundreds of Intelligence Staff

BLUFPulte's pre-appointment targeting of 400 NCTC staff likely triggers a federal court injunction within 30 days, but the procedural pause will not reverse cumulative workforce erosion already degrading counterterrorism coordination.

Bill Pulte began dismissing ODNI staff on Monday, his second full day as acting director of national intelligence, following Trump's June 10 directive to "execute the immediate and needed downsizing of the office" 123. A source with knowledge of the matter told NBC News that Pulte had ordered staff to identify 400 employees for firing from the National Counterterrorism Center before formally assuming the role Friday 2. Senate Intelligence Vice Chairman Mark Warner and House Intelligence ranking member Jim Himes sent Pulte a letter Monday arguing that structural reductions are "not an appropriate course of action for anyone in an acting capacity" without congressional consultation, while Republican Sen. Thom Tillis separately called Pulte an "incompetent sycophant" 12. Trump has blocked Jay Clayton's Senate confirmation hearing pending installation of Clayton's SDNY replacement, keeping Pulte in the acting role indefinitely, MSNBC and ABC News reported 13.

Analysis
Layered atop Gabbard's completed 30-percent cut, the NCTC dismissals leave the post-9/11 CT coordination architecture without Senate-confirmed leadership and exposed to rapid workforce degradation. The June 10 directive has moved from announced policy to execution, and Clayton's confirmation freeze is confirmed indefinite, extending Pulte's tenure with no clear endpoint. A federal court is likely to intervene with a TRO or preliminary injunction within the next 30 days. Pulte's preemptive identification of 400 NCTC employees before formally assuming the role is a procedural vulnerability unions can exploit, backed by 2025 precedents of successful injunctions against analogous reductions. Moderate confidence reflects that precedent record offset by courts' longstanding deference to executive discretion over IC personnel. Pulte's retained acting position may function primarily as a negotiating instrument to accelerate Clayton's confirmation rather than a plan to permanently restructure ODNI. If no injunction issues within 30 days, the NCTC loses personnel before confirmed leadership can reverse the reductions.

3 sources