CIA offers entire staff buyouts to align agency with Trump priorities

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News Websites
Today 09:04

The CIA has offered its employees buyout offers in response to the Trump administration's national security priorities and federal cost-cutting initiative.

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This April 13, 2016, file photo shows the seal of the Central Intelligence Agency at CIA headquarters in Langley, Va. (AP)

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) extended buyout offers to its entire workforce on Tuesday, according to The Wall Street Journal, making it the first intelligence agency to join in on President Donald Trump’s federal employee redundancy program.

The offer tells federal employees that they can quit their jobs and receive roughly eight months of pay and benefits, and up until Tuesday, it had not been made available to most national security roles in an apparent cognizance of their critical function to the security of the nation.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe personally decided he also wanted the CIA to be involved, CNN reported, citing a source.

The agency has also frozen hiring for candidates with conditional job offers, the report stated, citing an aide to CIA Director John Ratcliffe, who also indicated that some frozen offers may be revoked if applicants do not align with the agency’s revised priorities, particularly targeting drug cartels, supporting Trump’s trade policies, and countering China.

Even as the offer was sent to the entire workforce at the agency, it was not immediately clear whether all would be allowed to take it. Some specific occupations and areas of expertise appear likely to be restricted, one of the sources familiar with the offer said.

According to Ratcliffe's spokesperson, the move is part of an effort to "ensure the CIA workforce is responsive to the Administration’s national security priorities" and "part of a holistic strategy to infuse the Agency with renewed energy."

CNN reported that Trump and his allies have, at various times, accused CIA intelligence officers of being part of a "deep state" working against him.

Certain national security figures within Trump’s circle argue that, in recent years, the CIA has placed too much emphasis on analysis, neglecting its role in covert operations and intelligence gathering, which are handled by the agency’s smaller Directorate of Operations.

This decision is part of the Trump administration's sweeping government overhaul and cost-cutting initiative, aimed at reducing federal spending and eliminating programs deemed unnecessary, led by Elon Musk.