US intelligence agency ODNI to cut workforce by 40%
2 Min Read
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) plans to reduce staff by up to 40% and cut $700 million from its budget in the largest restructuring since its creation in 2005.
-
Office of the Director of National Intelligence Complex (ODNI website)
A Wednesday report by NewsNation revealed that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) is preparing to reduce its workforce by up to 40% and cut more than $700 million from its budget.
The personnel and budget cuts are part of a major restructuring effort that will take effect on September 30. A senior intelligence official told NewsNation that the changes represent the "most significant" overhaul of ODNI since its creation nearly two decades ago.
Officials emphasized that ODNI will maintain its core mission while addressing long-standing concerns over bureaucratic inefficiency.
The planned reductions align with broader efforts to streamline the intelligence community. Critics have long argued that ODNI became overly bureaucratic, straying from its intended role as a lean coordinating body.
Additionally, US President Donald Trump was briefed on the restructuring, which is being coordinated closely with the White House.
Background: Creation of ODNI after 9/11
ODNI was established in 2005 following the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, a legislative response to the 9/11 Commission’s findings that pre-attack intelligence failures were rooted in poor analysis and inadequate information-sharing.
The Commission recommended creating a National Intelligence Director to unify an intelligence system described as “too complex and secret” for effective coordination.
Today, ODNI oversees 18 intelligence organizations, from the CIA to military and law enforcement agencies. It employs about 1,750 staff at its McLean, Virginia, headquarters, but critics have long questioned its size and effectiveness. For example, a 2008 Inspector General report found many employees could not articulate ODNI’s mission, fueling claims that it added “an additional layer of bureaucracy.”
Recent legislative proposals, such as Senator Tom Cotton’s Intelligence Community Efficiency and Effectiveness Act, argue for scaling ODNI back to around 650 employees, closer to its original intended size. The proposed 40% staff reduction and $700 million budget cut mark the most dramatic downsizing of a US intelligence body since the post-Cold War 1990s.
