Bill Pulte said ODNI completed a fourth round of layoffs Sunday, extending an 18-month downsizing drive he said is meant to refocus the office on national security and its statutory role.
About 200 employees had already been laid off or reassigned since June 1, according to the Washington Post, and ODNI has not disclosed how many more were affected in the latest round or whether some were returned to home agencies.
The cuts align with pressure from the Trump administration and congressional Republicans: Tom Cotton has proposed capping ODNI at 650 staff, while Tulsi Gabbard last year backed a 40% workforce cut and a $700 million budget reduction.
ODNI, created after 9/11, now has little more than half of the roughly 2,000 employees it had at the start of the Trump administration, even as senators question cuts to election security, cybersecurity, biosecurity and foreign malign influence centers.
The latest layoffs land as the Senate prepares to vote on Jay Clayton to lead ODNI permanently; he has endorsed a leaner oversight-focused office while promising to review whether some mission areas need more resources.