Feb 05, 2025 11:21 AM IST
The buyout offers align with Donald Trump’s efforts to restructure the government, sidelining civil servants to shrink bureaucracy and bring in more loyalists.
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has offered buyouts to its entire workforce, aiming to align the agency with the priorities of US President Donald Trump, Wall Street Journal reported.
In addition to the buyouts, the CIA is halting the hiring of applicants who had previously been given conditional offers, as reported by the publication citing an aide to CIA Director John Ratcliffe.
An unnamed aide mentioned that some of the frozen offers might be revoked if the applicants’ backgrounds do not align with the CIA’s new objectives, which focus on combating drug cartels, addressing Trump’s trade war, and countering China.
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) does not reveal its budget or workforce size and has not yet responded to requests for comment.
A CIA spokeswoman told the Wall Street Journal that the buyouts were aimed at bringing “renewed energy” to the agency.
The reported buyout offers align with the Trump administration’s broader efforts to restructure the US government, which has already dismissed or sidelined hundreds of civil servants in an effort to shrink the bureaucracy and bring in more loyalists.
The White House last week gave two million full-time civilian federal employees the option to leave their jobs while continuing to receive pay and benefits until September 30, as part of President Donald Trump’s plan to shrink the federal workforce.
On Tuesday, unions representing US government employees filed a lawsuit in an attempt to halt the administration’s buyout program for federal workers.
John Ratcliffe, a former US congressman who previously served as Director of National Intelligence during Trump’s first term, was confirmed by the Senate as CIA director just days after Trump began his second term.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Ratcliffe’s aide said the CIA under Trump will shift its focus more toward the Western Hemisphere, including nations that have not traditionally been considered US adversaries.
With AP inputs
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