Trump directs acting DNI Pulte to start firing intelligence community personnel

On June 5, 2026, President Trump used a Wall Street Journal interview to confirm that he has directed his newly installed acting Director of National Intelligence, Bill Pulte, to begin firing national-security personnel and to shrink the intelligence community. Trump described the office as "unnecessary and/or too big" and characterized its workforce as holdovers from the Biden and Obama administrations who "shouldn't be there." He said he wants any eventual permanent DNI to continue the effort.

Pulte, who previously ran the Federal Housing Finance Agency and has no national-security background, now oversees the 18 agencies of the intelligence community. Trump said Pulte's temporary "acting" status leaves him "less shackled" to carry out rapid personnel cuts, and indicated he does not plan to formally nominate Pulte for the role — a posture that keeps the office under an unconfirmed loyalist while the firings proceed.

The directive is an executive effort to hollow out a congressionally established intelligence function by fiat, purging career staff based on which prior administration they served and bending the intelligence community toward political loyalty rather than independent analysis. It builds on the contested elevation of Pulte to acting DNI earlier in the week, which had already drawn bipartisan Senate resistance and stalled reauthorization of a FISA surveillance program. As of this recording the firings are a publicly confirmed presidential directive being initiated rather than completed; the directive itself is the archivable action, and any resulting dismissals may warrant a follow-on entry.