U.S. intelligence is being restructured: half of the spies will be dismissed

The chief of spies Tulsi Gabbard announced this Wednesday a deep restructuring of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), as part of an effort to fulfill the national security mission more efficiently and in alignment with the United States Constitution.

The initiative, called "ODNI 2.0," aims to reduce the agency's workforce by nearly 50% by the end of fiscal year 2025, which will result in an estimated savings of more than 700 million dollars annually for taxpayers.

Gabbard described these changes as the beginning of "a new era" in which the agency will focus on providing accurate, apolitical, and useful intelligence to President Donald Trump and lawmakers. The decision comes after a months-long review ordered by the Executive to assess how the agency could improve its effectiveness and reduce costs.

The changes to be implemented in intelligence. 

According to senior ODNI officials, the staff reduction will be between 30% and 40%. Employees affected by the cuts will be separated from the agency before September 30. The plan also includes the consolidation of several intelligence centers and the elimination of redundant programs. 

Among the centers affected by this restructuring are the Foreign Malign Influence Center, the National Counterproliferation and Biosecurity Center, and the Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center, which will be repurposed or merged with other structures.

Additionally, the National Intelligence University will be closed and its programs will be transferred to the National Defense University of the Department of Defense, to ensure that current students can continue their studies without interruption.

The politicization of intelligence. 

A letter signed by Gabbard and Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, sent to the university's faculty and staff, explains that this change aligns with President Trump's vision of increasing government efficiency and improving the quality of education in the field of intelligence. 

Meanwhile, Gabbard is also coordinating with the 18 agencies that make up the intelligence community to eliminate unnecessary contracts. According to a declassified document, these measures could generate savings of up to 1.3 billion dollars in annual costs. 

ODNI was created after the September 11, 2001 attacks with the goal of providing political leadership with timely, accurate, and unbiased information. Far from that purpose, the current chief of Intelligence keeps that the office has become an inefficient entity vulnerable to leaks, abuses of power, and increasing politicization.