United States: Staff reductions at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) have increased rapidly since President Donald Trump started his plan to reduce federal government employees. Multiple sources within the agency confirmed that probationary personnel and new hires were dismissed through the evaluation process of their work performance, as reported by Reuters.
A CIA spokesperson confirmed, “We are reviewing personnel within their first two years of service. For some, this process will result in termination. Our officers face unique pressures in high-stakes environments, and it’s not for everyone.”
Performance-Based or Politically Driven?
Official statements about performance-based dismissals do not align with documented information which shows that employees with high assessment scores lost their jobs. Sources indicate the total number of probationary staff terminations remains unknown while those fired had spent less than two years at the agency.
National security might face potential deterioration because intelligence specialists believe mass CIA staff dismissals will create disruptions in intelligence acquisition and analysis processes.
Elon Musk’s Role in Federal Budget Cuts
The Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, has been driving aggressive cost-cutting measures across federal agencies. As part of this initiative, thousands of recently hired employees across multiple government departments have been terminated.
In a controversial move, the CIA reportedly submitted a list of probationary employees to the Office of Personnel Management after a White House-mandated ranking process. This list, which included first initials and last names, sparked fears that exposed agency employees could become targets for foreign adversaries.
Senator Mark Warner expressed concern, stating on X, “Exposing the identities of officials who do extremely sensitive work would put a direct target on their backs for China.”
Legal Ruling Enables More Firings
This week, additional provisional CIA workers received termination letters after a federal judge in Virginia ruled in favor of a lawsuit from the Biden administration’s diversity task force. The ruling effectively granted the CIA greater authority to dismiss employees without restrictions, as reported by Reuters.
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have voiced their concerns, with House and Senate intelligence committee members learning about the dismissals only after they began. A significant congressional inquiry into the agency’s workforce reductions is expected in the coming weeks.