Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) has introduced a bill that would drastically reduce the size and scope of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), at a time when tensions are escalating between President Trump and his intelligence chief, Tulsi Gabbard.
Cotton’s proposed legislation—the Intelligence Community Efficiency and Effectiveness Act—would cut ODNI’s workforce by more than half, from around 1,600 employees to a cap of 650, NBC News reports. The bill would also eliminate several ODNI-run programs, including the Foreign Malign Influence Center, which monitors foreign threats like Russian election interference. Counterterrorism functions would be shifted to the FBI, while the CIA would take over biosecurity and nuclear proliferation efforts. Specialized centers focused on issues like climate security would be dismantled entirely.
Although Cotton’s office said the effort predates Gabbard’s appointment, the legislation arrives amid clear signs of friction between the White House and the former congresswoman.
Sources told NBC News that Gabbard upset Trump during internal debates over the U.S. bombing campaign on Iranian nuclear sites. Gabbard had testified before Congress that Iran was not actively pursuing a nuclear weapon—an assessment Trump later publicly rejected. “I don’t care what [Gabbard] said,” the president told reporters on Air Force One. “I think they were very close to having one.”
Her absence from a key intelligence briefing on the Iran strikes further fueled speculation that Gabbard is being sidelined. The high-level meeting included CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Dan Caine—but not Gabbard.
A senior White House official downplayed her exclusion, saying: “Director Ratcliffe will represent the intelligence community tomorrow while Tulsi Gabbard continues her critical work at DNI. The media is turning this into something it’s not.”
Still, reports suggest growing White House frustration with Gabbard, particularly after an intelligence leak cast doubt on Trump’s claims that the Iran strikes were a complete success. Trump had insisted the sites were “totally obliterated,” but the leak suggested otherwise.
Trump biographer Michael Wolff told The Daily Beast podcast that Gabbard may be the White House’s newest scapegoat. “In Trump’s world, there always has to be someone to blame,” Wolff said. “Right now, Tulsi is in the line of fire.”
While allies of Gabbard acknowledged tensions with the White House, they told NBC the strain has been exaggerated. An ODNI official added that Gabbard has been involved for months in internal discussions on reforms and budget reductions at the agency.
The future of Cotton’s bill remains uncertain, but if passed, it would mark a dramatic shift in how U.S. intelligence is managed—and could significantly weaken Gabbard’s role just as her relationship with the president appears to be fraying.
