President Trump’s administration is planning to cut more than 1,000 workers at the CIA and other intelligence agencies as it continues its push to downsize the federal government.
Apart from the CIA, the reductions will occur at other intelligence agencies, such as the National Security Agency. The cuts, which total over 1,200 employees, will take place over the next few years, some via early retirement and through reduced hiring, according to The Washington Post, which first reported on the reduction of the size of the agencies on Friday.
A CIA spokesperson did not confirm the number of cuts, but said the intelligence agency’s director, John Ratcliffe, is “moving swiftly to ensure the CIA workforce is responsive to the Administration’s national security priorities.”
“These moves are part of a holistic strategy to infuse the Agency with renewed energy, provide opportunities for rising leaders to emerge, and better position CIA to deliver on its mission,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement to The Hill Saturday.
The CIA has reduced its staff in recent months.
The spy agency fired dozens of junior officers in early March and offered buyouts to workers in early February.
In early April, the administration terminated the National Security Agency’s director Gen. Timothy Haugh, as well as his civilian deputy Wendy Noble, a move that sparked backlash from Democrats and Rep. Don Bacon, a Republican from Nebraska.
The number of people who worked for the CIA is not publicly disclosed, but it is believed to be around 22,000.
During his confirmation process, Ratcliffe pledged to senators that he would keep the CIA apolitical.
“If you look at my record as DNI, that never took place. That’s never something that anyone has alleged, and it’s something that I would never do,” Ratcliffe said in January. “I would approach this position very much the same way and provide the same assurance.”
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