Trump to cut 1,200 CIA jobs and thousands across intelligence agencies

By Fatma Zehra Solmaz

ISTANBUL (AA) - The Trump administration plans to make significant staffing cuts at the CIA and other key US intelligence agencies, reducing personnel in some of the country’s most critical security departments, The Washington Post reported Saturday, citing people familiar with the plan.

The administration recently informed Congress of plans to eliminate approximately 1,200 positions at the CIA over the next few years, along with thousands of additional cuts across other intelligence agencies, including the National Security Agency, a source told The Washington Post on condition of anonymity.

The reductions come despite CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s pledge to allocate more resources to monitoring China and drug-smuggling cartels.

Critics warn that the planned intelligence cuts could harm national security.

“These sweeping, reckless cuts of experienced intelligence personnel by the Trump administration will undoubtedly undermine our ability to detect and respond to threats and make America less safe,” said Senator Mark R. Warner, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Current and former US officials warn that laying off thousands of intelligence workers could pose a counterintelligence risk, as adversaries like Russia and China may target them for recruitment. In March, CNN reported that both nations had instructed their spy agencies to step up efforts to recruit US national security personnel who were fired or fear job loss, citing US intelligence assessments.

According to plans shared with The Washington Post, several thousand jobs will also be cut from the National Security Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency, the National Reconnaissance Office -- which manages spy satellites -- and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, which provides satellite imagery analysis and targeting data to US forces.

A former senior intelligence official said the CIA reductions may not be disruptive if managed well and focus on underperformers, estimating the cuts represent about 5% of the agency's staff. “That does not seem that out of line,” the official noted.

In a late March message to CIA employees, Ratcliffe outlined his vision: “For decades, CIA has known nothing but growth, but the years of growing budgets and resources are behind us. Moving forward, you will be part of a smaller, more elite and efficient workforce,” the New York Post reported, citing the memo.