Donald Trump is reportedly planning to revamp top spy agency


President-elect Donald Trump and his top advisers are working on a plan to restructure the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Central Intelligence Agency, The Wall Street Journal reports.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence was founded in 2004, primarily to help intelligence agencies coordinate efforts in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. A person close to the Trump transition team told WSJ that according to Trump, the office has become "bloated and politicized," and the president-elect believes the intelligence community is attempting to undermine his win by saying Russians hacked Democratic groups before the presidential election. When it comes to the CIA, the team wants to cut back on staffing at headquarters and send more people into field posts. Trump has regularly attacked U.S. intelligence agencies on Twitter, dismissing their hacking assessments, and one of his advisers is retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, who was pushed out of the Defense Intelligence Agency in 2013 by Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and others.
On Wednesday, Trump tweeted that he believed WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who claims he did not receive the information his website leaked from Russia. Since 2012, Assange has lived at the Ecuadorean embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden on rape allegations. Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.) said there are two sides to choose from — "some guy living in an embassy on the run from the law.... who has a history of undermining American democracy and releasing classified information to put our troops at risk, or the 17 intelligence agencies sworn to defend us. I'm going with them."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Tuberculosis is seeing a resurgence, and it's only going to get worse
Under the radar The spread of the deadly infection is buoyed by global unrest
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Sudoku hard: April 03, 2025
The Week's daily hard sudoku puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
Codeword: April 3, 2025
The Week's daily codeword puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sen. Booker's 25-hour speech beats Thurmond
Speed Read He spoke for the longest time in recorded Senate history, protesting the Trump administration's policies
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Bondi seeks death penalty for Luigi Mangione
Speed Read Mangione was charged with fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last year
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Democrats win costly Wisconsin court seat
Speed Read Democrats prevailed in an election for the Wisconsin Supreme Court despite Elon Musk's robust financial support of the Republican candidate
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
WHCA rejects White House press seating grab
Speed Read The White House Correspondents' Association objected to the Trump administration's bid to control where journalists sit during press briefings
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump sends more migrants to El Salvador jail
Speed Read Another 17 Venezuelan alleged gang members have been deported to a notorious prison
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump 'not joking' about unconstitutional 3rd term
Speed Read The president seems to be serious about seeking a third term in 2028
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The JFK files: the truth at last?
In The Spotlight More than 64,000 previously classified documents relating the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy have been released by the Trump administration
By The Week Staff Published
-
Supreme Court upholds 'ghost gun' restrictions
Speed Read Ghost guns can be regulated like other firearms
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published