US Intelligence workforce to be further trimmed

In yet another austerity and work-force trimming move, the Trump administration is set to slash the strength of the U.S. intelligence community. On Wednesday, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced that she would be firing nearly half of her office.

Earlier 500 employees had been fired as told by Gabbard herself. And that was about 30 percent of the staff, Foreign Policy magazine said. 

It’s all part of a plan that Gabbard dubbed “ODNI 2.0”.  (ODNI is Office of the Director of National Intelligence).  Gabbard said the step is aimed at streamlining  the agency to support Trump’s priorities.

“Over the last 20 years, ODNI has become bloated, radically expanded in size, and distracted by tasks and requirements that fall outside its mandate,” Gabbard said in the announcement. “ODNI and the IC [intelligence community] are plagued with unauthorized intelligence leaks, politicization, and weaponization of intelligence.”

The announcement came a day after Gabbard revoked the security clearances of 37 current and former officials, including several involved in the investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.