Grand Theft America / Receipt power-2026-06-23-007
The acting spy chief removes more than 50 ODNI staff in his first week
Acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte fired six political appointees put in place by former director Tulsi Gabbard and removed 45 career intelligence officials from their roles at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, sending them back to their home agencies.
What happened
CNN reported on 22 June 2026 that the cuts had started that Monday, and carried the counts of six fired and 45 returned on 23 June, which is the date used here; no source dates the 45 reassignments themselves. The 45 career officials were on joint duty assignment at the agency, meaning they worked at ODNI but are technically employed by other agencies. CNN reports Trump installed Pulte in the acting role with a mandate to 'execute the immediate and needed downsizing of the office', which the president wrote in a Truth Social post. In a letter sent to Pulte on 22 June, Senator Mark Warner and Representative Jim Himes wrote that they were concerned by reports he intended to fire or place on leave hundreds of ODNI officers as soon as that week.
Why it matters
ODNI exists to coordinate 18 intelligence agencies, and more than 50 of its political and career staff are removed in the first week of an acting director who took over on 19 June, before a confirmed director is in place. Warner and Himes wrote that large cuts would follow a substantial downsizing already carried out in 2025 and risk jeopardising the mission of an organisation explicitly created after 9/11.
Receipt details
- Phase 1
- Purge the people who'd say no
- Fire the federal workforce en masse
