Intelligence officials engaging in misconduct are being forced out as Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard ramps up efforts to reform the agencies under her watch. She has ordered the termination of more than 100 employees for participating in explicit chats during work hours and is also responding to reports of CIA agents threatening to compromise national security.
Gabbard, speaking on Fox News, reacted to reports that some intelligence officials have expressed willingness to sell classified information out of frustration with the Trump administration’s policies. She criticized these individuals for attempting to manipulate public perception through the media, particularly CNN, which she called the CIA’s “propaganda arm.”
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She argued that such behavior reveals these individuals’ true intentions, saying they care more about themselves than national security. “They are exposing themselves,” she said, warning that there is no place in the intelligence community for those willing to put the country at risk for personal grievances.
Alongside this crackdown, Gabbard has issued a directive to intelligence agencies demanding the removal of employees involved in explicit chats on government communication channels. The chats, hosted on a secure system operated by the National Security Agency, were conducted in groups labeled “LBTQA” and “IC_Pride_TWG.” Gabbard called the activity a serious violation of workplace standards, confirming that the groups were shut down after Trump’s executive order eliminating DEI programs.
Deputy Chief of Staff Alexa Henning confirmed that all employees involved in the chats will have their security clearances revoked and be fired by the end of the week. She said Gabbard has made it clear that intelligence agencies must focus entirely on their core mission of national security rather than distractions created by DEI and misconduct.
The CIA, already under scrutiny, is planning its largest wave of terminations in decades, targeting those involved in DEI initiatives. The last major reduction of this scale occurred in 1977, when nearly 200 clandestine officers were dismissed. The agency has also introduced a severance package offering eight months of salary and benefits to employees willing to leave voluntarily rather than align with the Trump administration’s objectives.
