US intel chief slashes payroll to root out ‘deep state actors’

WASHINGTON(National times)- US intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard said on Wednesday that she will make heavy cuts to her office, which she declared has “fallen short” of fulfilling its mandate and is “rife with abuse of power.” Gabbard announced she will reduce the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) by over 40% by the end of fiscal year 2025, estimated to save $700 million. “Over the last 20 years, ODNI has become bloated and inefficient, and the intelligence community is rife with abuse of power, unauthorised leaks of classified intelligence and politicised weaponization of intelligence,” Gabbard said in a news release. In a series of social media posts, Gabbard added that she is “cutting bloated bureaucracy, rooting out deep state actors, and restoring mission focus.” A four-page fact sheet posted to her department’s website describes the plan for “ODNI 2.0,” which involves reducing her office’s efforts to monitor biosecurity, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, cyber intelligence threats and other areas. In explaining cuts to the Strategic Futures Group, the office’s intelligence forecasting unit, Gabbard’s team said they were “found to violate professional analytic tradecraft standards in an effort to propogate a political agenda that ran counter to all of the current president’s national security priorities.” The cuts were, at times, explained with accusations against previous Democrat-led administrations. Cuts to the Foreign Malign Influence Center —  established to combat foreign threats to democracy and US interests — were conducted because it was “used by the previous administration to justify the suppression of free speech and to censor political opposition,” the fact sheet alleged, in reference to President Donald Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden. The fact sheet also touted previous cuts, saying since “Gabbard’s first day, ODNI has already reduced its size by nearly 30%, with more than 500 staffers now off the books.” In July, Gabbard accused former president Barack Obama of heading a “treasonous conspiracy” to allege Russia interfered with American elections to help Trump. But Gabbard’s findings run up against four separate criminal, counterintelligence and watchdog probes between 2019 and 2023 — each of them concluding that Russia did interfere and helped Trump in various ways. Critics have accused Gabbard, 43, of being close to Russian President Vladimir Putin and ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The purge extends beyond slashing the agency’s current payroll. The New York Times reported on Tuesday that Gabbard revoked the security clearances of 37 current and former national security officials —many of whom worked on Russia analysis or foreign threats to US elections —at the president´s direction. President Donald Trump took office on the promise of reducing the size of the federal government, and has since slashed US foreign aid contributions, the Department of Education — which required the US Supreme Court´s approval —and other agencies.



Latest News
Lyari, Malir streams overflow as heavy monsoon rains wreak havoc in Karachi
Israeli aggression against Qatar a grave violation of international law: FO
Funeral prayers of SSG commando Major Adnan Aslam offered in Rawalpindi
Karachi faces heavy rainfall, urban flooding risks as monsoon system intensifies
Two children among four drown in Jalalpur Pirwala flood
High flood situation persists in Chenab, Sutlej and Ravi
Sher Shah Dam to be breached amid high flood in Chenab: PDMA
Pakistan, US seal $500m critical minerals investment deal




Multi Media   
Embassy of Pakistan 🇵🇰 in Brussels || Quarterly Recap of Activities, Engagements & Outreach
 Multi Media
DPM Dar sends Trump peace prize nomination to Nobel Committee
 Multi Media
Pak Navy Chief Visits Foreign Ships Participating in Ninth Multinational Naval Exercise Aman | ISPR
 Multi Media
PM Shehbaz Sharif Addresses | Breathe Pakistan Global Climate Conference I 07-02-2025
 Multi Media
COAS visited Muzaffarabad, where he paid homage to the sacrifices of the martyrs.| ISPR