Gabbard to slash intel office staff by 40% in $700M budget cut

WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — The Office of the Director of National Intelligence will dramatically reduce its workforce by 30% to 40% and cut its budget by more than $700 million annually as part of a major restructuring effort, senior intelligence officials tell NewsNation.

The changes, which take effect Sept. 30, are the most significant overhaul of ODNI since its creation two decades ago, officials tell NewsNation.

“A new day for ODNI,” Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said in a statement announcing the restructuring. “We are here to serve a purpose that is greater than any of us as individuals.”

Officials described the initiative as reducing bureaucratic “bloat” while maintaining the agency’s core mission. They told NewsNation ODNI had remained largely unchanged for 20 years despite evolving national security challenges.

Senior intelligence officials who conducted a monthslong review of the agency briefed President Donald Trump on the findings two weeks ago. The restructuring was developed in coordination with the White House as part of broader federal cost-cutting efforts.

Affected personnel will be notified Wednesday and will either be terminated or repositioned to other agencies, including the CIA.

Gabbard said in the statement the agency is “committed to supporting you through this process with options and resources to aid your next steps.”

“We stand at a crossroads,” Gabbard said.

The restructuring focuses on six key areas: consolidation, elimination, investment, standards, efficiency and culture. 

“I’ve been at ODNI, and it hasn’t gone through thoughtful change,” one official told NewsNation, adding that this is meant to “restore that trust in the IC.”

“Twenty years after it was established, there is broad, bipartisan agreement that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence is in need of thoughtful reform,” Sen. Mark Warner, D-VA, vice chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said.

“The Intelligence Authorization Act directs Director Gabbard to submit a plan to Congress outlining her proposed changes, and we will carefully review her proposals and conduct rigorous oversight to ensure any reforms strengthen, not weaken, our national security. But given Director Gabbard’s track record of politicizing intelligence – including her decision just yesterday to revoke security clearances from career national security officials – I have no confidence that she is the right person to carry out this weighty responsibility.”

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence was established in 2004 to coordinate the nation’s 18 intelligence agencies following recommendations from the 9/11 Commission.

NewsNation’s Kevin Bohn contributed to this report.