Acting DNI Pulte Fires 6, Returns 45 to Home Agencies in First Week on the Job

What Happened

Since Bill Pulte took over as acting Director of National Intelligence, 51 ODNI staff have been removed: six fired outright, 45 returned to their home agencies, according to three sources familiar with the moves who spoke to CBS News.

Among those pushed out was William Ruger, the deputy director of national intelligence for mission integration. Ruger oversaw what the ODNI's own website describes as "the IC's collaborative integration efforts and primary intelligence support to policymakers through the President's Daily Brief and the National Intelligence Council." CBS News reported he was placed on administrative leave.

Pulte reportedly solicited cut suggestions from deputies and other directors. Some pushed for more reductions; Pulte held at 51 for now. Two sources told CBS News no further firings are currently planned. Notably, no one from the counterterrorism group has been removed.

The Bigger Picture on ODNI Staffing

Under former DNI Tulsi Gabbard, who stepped down in late May, ODNI began a planned reduction from roughly 2,000 staff to around 1,300, a 40% workforce cut announced last August. Gabbard argued the office had grown bloated, inefficient, and was "rife with abuse of power, unauthorized leaks of classified intelligence, and politicized weaponization of intelligence."

President Trump directed Pulte in a Truth Social post earlier this month to "execute the immediate and needed downsizing of the office."

Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, said earlier this month ODNI has "grown far beyond its original mandate" and that large numbers of detailed staff should return to their home agencies. That is exactly what Pulte did with the 45 staffers sent back.

The Criticism Has Teeth

Ranking Members Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT) and Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) sent Pulte a letter dated June 22 warning against "illegal or reckless actions" and specifically flagging his lack of intelligence community experience. Their letter noted that Pulte simultaneously leads the Federal Housing Finance Agency and argued that making significant structural changes "is not an appropriate course of action for anyone in an acting capacity, let alone without consultation with Congress."

They also demanded he preserve all records related to personnel actions and declassification decisions while serving in an acting role.

Criticism came from the Republican side too. Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who is retiring, told reporters Tuesday that Pulte should conduct a proper analysis and "only eliminate the people whose jobs can be either automated or never should have been there." Tillis was blunter than that, calling the approach likely to be "another hot, steaming pile of Doge shit" and describing Pulte as "an incompetent sycophant" who is "undermining ultimately what the confirmed administrator should be doing."

The Case for the Cuts

ODNI was created in response to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, which investigators widely believe was preceded by a failure of intelligence agencies to share information. Critics across both parties say it has since added layers of bureaucracy without improving outcomes. The argument is that returning detailed staff to their actual intelligence agencies puts them back where they do real work. One source characterized the Pulte cuts to CBS News as "thoughtful and methodical," and the decision to leave the counterterrorism group intact suggests some operational awareness.

But there is a meaningful difference between returning over-assigned bureaucrats to field agencies and removing the deputy director who manages the President's Daily Brief on day five of an acting tenure.

The Guardian's Framing vs. The Facts

The Guardian cited an ABC News report that "cuts to the National Terrorism Center were expected to be particularly large." CBS News, citing sources with direct knowledge, reported the opposite: no one from the counterterrorism group has been removed. The Guardian did not reconcile that conflict. Readers relying solely on its coverage got a materially different picture of where the cuts landed.

What Comes Next

Himes and Warner's June 22 letter explicitly invoked Pulte's legal record-keeping obligations, which sets up a potential congressional oversight fight if Pulte continues making changes without coordination. The Senate has NOT yet confirmed a permanent DNI. Until that happens, every structural decision Pulte makes sits on shakier legal and institutional ground — a fact both Democratic critics and Sen. Tillis have now raised on the record.