Acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte has initiated a fresh round of dismissals across the U.S. intelligence community.
According to MSNBC, Bill Pulte, who was appointed acting Director of National Intelligence by President Donald Trump in June, issued termination notices to dozens of intelligence officials on Thursday. The report cited an intelligence official who requested anonymity due to fears of retaliation.
The official claimed that the Trump administration believes the affected intelligence personnel are part of the “deep state” and accused them of failing to provide complete intelligence assessments.
Last month, CNN reported that Pulte had dismissed several political appointees who previously served under Tulsi Gabbard, who stepped down from the role in May.
Reports indicate that in early June, President Donald Trump instructed Pulte to begin the process of dismissing a significant number of employees within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). The ODNI oversees the work of 18 U.S. intelligence agencies, including the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency.
President Donald Trump’s decision to appoint Bill Pulte as acting Director of National Intelligence has faced strong criticism from lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle.
Pulte, who also heads the Federal Housing Finance Agency, has used his position to pursue investigations into individuals opposed to Trump over alleged mortgage fraud.
Following opposition to Pulte’s appointment in Congress, President Donald Trump announced in June that Jay Clayton, the current U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and former chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, was his choice to permanently lead the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
The Senate had moved to expedite Jay Clayton’s confirmation by scheduling a hearing for June 17. However, President Donald Trump halted the process just hours before it began, directing Clayton not to appear at the hearing in a post on Truth Social and announcing that Bill Pulte would continue serving as acting Director of National Intelligence in the meantime.
Bill Pulte officially took over as acting Director of National Intelligence on June 19, a position that granted him access to the United States’ most highly classified intelligence information.
