In a major personnel announcement made via press release and X, Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard declared that she would be taking action to slash the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) by 40% as she cracks down on bureaucratic bloat and Deep State holdovers to make the ODNI more agile and in line with the administration.
For reference, DNI Gabbard’s role in the Trump Administration rose particularly to the fore when she started releasing information on the “treasonous conspiracy” in which the Deep State engaged to direct the “Russia Hoax” against President Trump, and since has remained in the news with her further attacks on “Deep State” types like John Brennan and James Clapper.
Posting on X about her new moves to clear out the rot in the Intelligence Community by firing thousands of ODNI bureaucrats. She said, in her August 20 post on X announcing the move, “Today I’m launching ODNI 2.0 – the first step toward bringing about transformational change that is based on cutting bloated bureaucracy, rooting out deep state actors, and restoring mission focus. When implementation is complete, ODNI will be more agile, efficient, and effective, reducing our organization by more than 40%, saving taxpayers $700+ million per year.”
Continuing, she explained the background of her position and what the ODNI is meant to do, saying, “ODNI was created 20 years ago because of the egregious intelligence failures of the Islamist terror attack on 9/11, to integrate and oversee the Intelligence Community and provide timely, accurate intelligence that protects national security.”
She further added that the Intelligence Community generally and the ODNI specifically are characterized by rot and bloat that needs to be cut out as soon as possible to end the politicized weaponization for which the IC is currently known in MAGA America. She said, “Two decades later, bloat and inefficiency are rampant across ODNI, and the Intelligence Community is rife with abuse of power, unauthorized intel leaks, and politicized weaponization of intelligence.”
Commenting yet further on the politicization problem, Tulsi said, “For too long, bad actors have exploited and politicized our Intelligence Community to drive agendas that put their own interests ahead of the interests of the American people. Today, we are announcing serious change to ensure the IC fulfills its responsibility to the American people and the U.S. Constitution.”
And, turning back to the waste and bloat issue, DNI Gabbard further noted that the ODNI needs to wisely use American tax dollars, saying, “We are eliminating wasteful spending to ensure ODNI is a responsible steward of American tax dollars, slashing redundant functions and inefficiency, and focusing on our core mission.”
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Then, turning back from that to the politicization issue, she said, “Bringing about transparency, accountability, and working to end the weaponization of intelligence is essential for the Intelligence Community to begin to earn the American people’s trust. We are eliminating elements that do not support our mission and have acted as hubs of politicization and pushing partisan priorities into what should be apolitical, unbiased intelligence products.”
Concluding, she described what the end goal of this is and what she aims to accomplish with the changes to ODNI, saying, “ODNI 2.0 is the start of a new era focused on serving our country, upholding the principles enshrined in our Constitution, working to end weaponization and politicization of intelligence, and refocusing on our core mission: ensuring the safety, security, and freedom of the American people.”
Watch Gabbard describe stripping 37 former and current IC officials of their clearances here: