US intel chief Tulsi Gabbard to slash staff by 40%, cites abuse of power, $700 million savings
Written by admin on August 21, 2025
US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced plans to make heavy cuts to intelligence workforce by 40%, which she said has “fallen short” of accomplishing its mandate, while citing “abuse of power and 700% savings”.
She said she will slash the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) by more than 40 percent by the end of fiscal year 2025, which will will save $700 million.
According to Gabbard’s statement in news release, “Over the last 20 years, ODNI has become bloated and inefficient, and the intelligence community is rife with abuse of power, unauthorized leaks of classified intelligence and politicized weaponization of intelligence.”
She added that she is “cutting bloated bureaucracy, rooting out deep state actors, and restoring mission focus”.
The department’s website, which contains four-page fact sheet, explains the move for “ODNI 2.0,” which consists of cutting her office’s efforts to oversee biosecurity, the increasing number of weapons of mass destruction, cyber intelligence threats and other areas.
‘Found to violate professional analytic tradecraft standards’
The office’s intelligence forecasting unit, Gabbard’s team mentioned they were “found to violate professional analytic tradecraft standards in an effort to propogate a political agenda that ran counter to all of the current president’s national security priorities”, while detailing the cuts to the Strategic Futures Group.
The cuts to the Foreign Malign Influence Center, created to address foreign threats to democracy and US interests, were, at times, justified by accusations against prior Democrat-led administrations. According to the fact sheet, the reductions occurred because the center was “used by the previous administration to justify the suppression of free speech and to censor political opposition,” referring to Joe Biden.
The fact sheet also talked about earlier cuts, stating since “Gabbard’s first day, ODNI has already reduced its size by nearly 30%, with more than 500 staffers now off the books”.
In July, Gabbard accused former president Barack Obama of leading a “treasonous conspiracy” to claim that Russia interfered in American elections to benefit Trump.
However, Gabbard’s assertions conflict with the conclusions of four separate investigations — criminal, counterintelligence, and watchdog, conducted between 2019 and 2023, all of which determined that Russia did interfere and supported Trump in multiple ways.
Gabbard, 43, has faced criticism from opponents who claim she is close to Russian President Vladimir Putin and ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
In July, Gabbard accused former president Barack Obama of leading a “treasonous conspiracy” to claim that Russia interfered in American elections to benefit Trump.
The cuts go beyond reducing the agency’s current staff.
According to a report by The New York Times on Tuesday, Gabbard, under the president’s direction, revoked the security clearances of 37 current and former national security officials, many of whom were involved in analysing Russia or addressing foreign threats to US elections.
Trump assumed office with a pledge to shrink the size of the federal government. Since then, he has significantly cut US foreign aid contributions, reduced funding for the Department of Education, a move that required approval from the US Supreme Court and other agencies.
(With inputs from AFP)
