BREAKING: “Deep State Firings Have Begun” As Bill Pulte Steps Into DNI Role

It’s official: Tulsi Gabbard is out, and Bill Pulte has taken over the ODNI as Acting Director of National Intelligence.

Under orders from President Trump, he’s wasting no time ordering a massive purge of the Deep State!

According to sources who spoke to CNN, “the deep state firings have begun” as Pulte starts drastically slashing jobs.

CNN’s Kristen Holmes shared:

Firings at the Office of the Director of National intelligence started today, a source familiar with the matter told CNN.
"The deep state firings have begun,” the source said, declining to give details on how many jobs had been cut.

— Kristen Holmes (@KristenhCNN) June 22, 2026

While we don’t know exactly how many jobs will be cut, it’s likely to be in the hundreds.

Here’s more from the CNN report on the mass firings that are currently underway:

Sources had previously told CNN that Bill Pulte, Trump’s pick to serve as director of national intelligence in an acting capacity, was looking at cutting hundreds of jobs at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). Last week, Pulte showed up to his new job a day early after asking for a list of every employee in the office, sources told CNN, catching even outgoing director Tulsi Gabbard off-guard.

A source familiar with the matter told CNN that the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) and the National Counterintelligence and Security Center were expected to be hit hard by the cuts.

All offices were asked to provide a list ranking their personnel by Monday, according to two sources familiar with the matter, who associated the request with Pulte’s mandate to carry out mass firings.

The firings came as top Democrats on the Senate and House Intelligence Committees sent a letter on Monday to Pulte warning him of the risks of making large cuts to the workforce.

Previously, President Trump announced that he had directed Pulte to execute widespread “downsizing” at the office.

Per NBC News:

Trump named Pulte the acting director this month and said on Truth Social that he had “asked him to execute the immediate and needed downsizing of the office, reverting staff to their home agencies.” Pulte, who has no background in national security matters, has been serving as head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

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A separate source with knowledge of the matter told NBC News over the weekend that Pulte had ordered staff members to identify 400 employees to be fired from the National Counterterrorism Center, which is part of the U.S. intelligence community, in the coming weeks.

Pulte issued the instruction late Thursday — before he officially took over for outgoing Director Tulsi Gabbard, the source said. He started his new post Friday.

Notably, President Trump appointed Pulte as Acting DNI, so he does not have to be confirmed by the Senate.

This move has angered a lot of Democrats — for good reason, since it means they can’t do anything to stop him from taking out the trash at the agency!

Here’s what President Trump had to say about his appointment of Bill Pulte:

🚨 BREAKING: "DEEP STATE FIRINGS HAVE BEGUN" after Bill Pulte takes over as Acting Director of National Intelligence — CNN

LET'S GO! 🔥🔥

Pulte is NOT a Senate nominee so he can be HYPER-aggressive and not worry about the Senate blocking him 👏🏻

Tulsi Gabbard's work continues!… pic.twitter.com/k3WvWTaH4t

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) June 22, 2026

President Trump has also nominated Jay Clayton to serve in the permanent role of DNI.

However, he says that the Senate confirmation process will not begin until Clayton’s current role as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York is fulfilled.

ABC News reported:

Trump had previously announced he was nominating U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton to permanently lead ODNI amid backlash from Democrats and Republicans to his appointment of Bill Pulte to be acting director.

Trump then abruptly announced last week that the confirmation process for Clayton would not continue until his pick to replace Clayton as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jamie McDonald, is confirmed.

While he’s there, Pulte has a big job to do!