‘I’d like to see it smaller’: Trump says he wants acting intelligence chief Bill Pulte to begin firing a large number of ODNI employees

President Trump is pushing for a major change to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, with the aim of cutting its staff significantly. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, the president said he wants Bill Pulte, his incoming acting director of national intelligence, to begin firing a large number of employees at the agency. Trump described the office, which oversees 18 federal intelligence units, as unnecessary or simply too large.

“I’d like to see it smaller. I think there are a lot of people in there that shouldn’t be there,” Trump said, pointing in particular to his wish to remove holdovers from the Obama and Biden administrations. When asked if he is calling on Pulte to start firing people, the president confirmed he wants him to “start the process.” He also said the eventual permanent nominee for the role should continue this work.

Pulte, who currently serves as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, was named to this intelligence post on an acting basis. The temporary role allows him to serve for 210 days without needing Senate confirmation. Trump argued that this acting status is actually a strategic advantage. “You’re less shackled,” he said. “It sort of gives you more power, you know, for a somewhat limited period of time.”

Trump links the planned cuts to changes made at the Department of Education

The president hopes Pulte can make these changes before a permanent director is confirmed. “Frankly, it might be good for him to shake it up before people come,” Trump said, according to The Wall Street Journal. “Because, if he [Pulte] reduced the size, in conjunction with me…and in conjunction with possibly the person coming in…he can do a lot of the hard work and we wouldn’t have to saddle somebody that goes in.”

Pulte’s appointment has drawn doubt from some Republicans on Capitol Hill, who have raised concerns about his lack of national-security experience. The pushback has gone further, with three GOP senators voting to bar him from the role. Senate Majority Leader John Thune expressed worry about the direction of the agency, saying, “We don’t need a weaponized DNI.”

These concerns have already affected legislative efforts. Early Friday, a Senate vote to move forward on reauthorizing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act failed, with some lawmakers pointing to their worries about Pulte.

Trump compared the change he wants at the ODNI to the work being done by Education Secretary Linda McMahon. McMahon has been reducing the size of the Department of Education, an agency the president has previously said he wants to eliminate. “We’ve made the Department of Education much smaller, and likewise, this should be much smaller,” Trump said. “And this should maybe even be terminated, and we’ll make that decision.”

Beyond staffing cuts, the president wants Pulte to release more classified documents, including those related to the 2020 election. When asked which specific documents should be released, Trump said, “I would say everything, he should look at everything and make a determination.” The experience concerns have also surfaced among senior Republicans, with Mitch McConnell warning the DNI needs national-security experience.

The president is currently interviewing candidates for the permanent role, noting he spoke with two people on Friday, one from business and one from politics. Speaking later on Air Force One, Trump said he had conducted five interviews for the position. He repeated that Pulte will remain in the acting role until a new person is confirmed by the Senate. Pulte did not respond to requests for comment about these plans.