NATIONAL NEWS

Gabbard slashing intelligence office workforce by 40%, cutting budget by more than $700 million

Aug 20, 2025, 1:23 PM | Updated: 3:58 pm

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Brie...

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Wednesday, July 23, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS

(AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Office of National Intelligence will dramatically reduce its workforce and cut its budget by more than $700 million annually, the Trump administration announced Wednesday.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said in a statement, “Over the last 20 years, ODNI has become bloated and inefficient, and the intelligence community is rife with abuse of power, unauthorized leaks of classified intelligence, and politicized weaponization of intelligence.”

She said the intelligence community “must make serious changes to fulfill its responsibility to the American people and the U.S. Constitution by focusing on our core mission: find the truth and provide objective, unbiased, timely intelligence to the President and policymakers.”

National News

Associated Press

Ohio State suspends fraternity while investigating a video showing men engulfed in flames

A fraternity at Ohio State University has been temporarily suspended while authorities investigate a video that appears to show two panicked men engulfed in flames. A video shared on social media shows one individual with his sweatpants on fire who then lunges at a second individual and tackles him to the ground. The second man’s […]

16 minutes ago

Supporters wave signs after Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms, who became the nation's first Black woma...

Associated Press

Democrats flip Georgia state House, giving them new control of at least 12 legislative chambers

Democrats have taken control of the state House in Georgia after also gaining the governor’s office in last week’s midterm election, giving the party control of each for the first time in more than 20 years. The flip gives Democrats control of at least 12 new legislative chambers across the U.S. after their major gains […]

1 hour ago

Associated Press

Karen Attiah says she won’t rejoin The Washington Post, which fired her over Charlie Kirk comments

WASHINGTON (AP) — Opinion writer Karen Attiah has decided not to return to her job at The Washington Post, despite winning reinstatement after her firing over social media posts about the 2025 killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Attiah wrote Sunday on her Substack, “The Golden Hour by Karen Attiah,” that she reached a settlement […]

1 hour ago

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth leaves after attending the Association of Southeast Asian Natio...

Associated Press

Hegseth announces rare press conference to discuss expected impeachment resolution in Congress

WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing an expected impeachment resolution in Congress, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he’s eager to litigate the policy choices that he and President Donald Trump have made in Iran and Venezuela. “If you want to take issue with what we did in Epic Fury or Rough Rider or nabbing Nicolás Maduro, you’re […]

1 hour ago

The Capitol is seen under a gray autumn sky in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Sco...

Associated Press

Senate weighs sweeping energy legislation in first major action since midterm elections

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Monday is set to take up bipartisan legislation aimed at speeding up permitting reviews for data centers and other infrastructure projects, in the first major action since last week’s election that soundly repudiated President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans. The Senate is expected to hold a procedural vote on […]

2 hours ago

President Donald Trump arrives at the White House following a weekend trip to Florida, in Washingto...

Associated Press

The Latest: Trump says his deportation policy ‘might have been too tough’ for voters

President Donald Trump, in his first major interview since his party lost control of the House and Senate in the midterm elections, said he thinks his administration was too aggressive on deportations and that he thinks he can work with Democrats in the new Congress on some kind of immigration deal. Trump and his Department […]

5 hours ago

Gabbard slashing intelligence office workforce by 40%, cutting budget by more than $700 million