(MENAFN) Tulsi Gabbard, the U.S. Director of National Intelligence under President Donald Trump, announced Wednesday a sweeping downsizing of her agency, pledging to trim more than 40% of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) in an effort to slash over $700 million in yearly costs.

“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,” Gabbard stated.

The restructuring is designed to sharpen the agency’s core mission, with the office shifting focus toward its foundational duties of coordinating intelligence strategy, oversight, and integration across the broader U.S. Intelligence Community.

According to the official statement, the ODNI will be restructured "to focus on fulfilling its critical role of serving as the central hub for intelligence integration, strategic guidance, and oversight over the Intelligence Community."

Formed in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks, the ODNI was tasked with addressing failures across intelligence agencies by consolidating operations and ensuring streamlined, apolitical intelligence reporting. It currently oversees 18 intelligence bodies, working to deliver timely and accurate intelligence to the President and top decision-makers.

The move marks one of the most significant overhauls of U.S. intelligence operations in two decades.

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