US acting spy chief seeks to fire hundreds of staff: Report

Acting US spy chief Bill Pulte is seeking to cut hundreds of jobs at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, reported on Friday, as he prepares to take over the sprawling US intelligence community.

Citing two sources familiar with the matter, federal housing regulator and Trump loyalist Pulte showed up at his new job a day early on Thursday after asking for a list of every employee in the office so he could assess whether to fire them.

The ODNI did not immediately respond to request for comment on the report, which said Pulte met with lawyers and staffers during his visit.

Democrat Jim Himes, ranking member of the House of Representatives’ Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said that if the report was true, it showed why Pulte “should never spend a minute as Director of National Intelligence, a role he is legally not qualified to perform.”

“Mr. Pulte should expect the Intelligence Committee to closely scrutinize any actions he takes in what should be a very short period in this role, to include any personnel decisions or declassifications,” Himes added in a statement. President Donald Trump appointed Pulte as acting director of national intelligence earlier this month, elevating a political loyalist with no national security experience at a time of war and global tensions.

Amid a political backlash over his pick, Trump subsequently nominated Jay Clayton, the top US attorney for Manhattan, to take over the job permanently, but then threw doubt on that on Wednesday by ordering the abrupt postponement of Clayton’s confirmation hearing in an effort to force Congress to pass a strict voter identification bill.

The ODNI oversees the premier foreign spy service, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the National Security Agency, the massive agency that eavesdrops on foreign communications and helps defend the United States against cyberattacks. Pulte replaces Tulsi Gabbard, who resigned from her job last month.

Her last day in office is Friday.  Pulte’s appearance at ODNI on Thursday caught staff off guard, including Gabbard, who was given a brief heads-up on the visit. Earlier this month, staff at the office of the top US spy had been told by managers to expect extensive cuts in the coming months following comments by Trump that he wants the new interim director to shrink the agency’s ranks.

Gabbard has already cut the agency’s workforce by about 40 percent since taking up the position last year.