Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said she is setting up a task force to cut costs and root out what she said is “weaponization” of the government.
In a statement on Tuesday, Gabbard said that the task force creation is designed to “rebuild trust in the Intelligence Community” and to align with President Donald Trump’s executive orders.
“We are already identifying wasteful spending in real time, streamlining outdated processes, reviewing documents for declassification, and leading ongoing efforts to root out abuses of power and politicization,” she said in the statement.
Several of the moves will fall under Trump’s executive orders that established the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a cost-cutting organization associated with senior Trump adviser Elon Musk, although the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) did not provide further details in the statement. But it did say that the office is currently “identifying wasteful spending, inefficiencies, and bloated bureaucracy.”
The ODNI said that it is currently reviewing any documents for potential declassification, including details on the origins of COVID-19, the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation into allegations that Trump colluded with Russia in 2016, “anomalous health incidents,” and the Biden administration’s “domestic surveillance and censorship actions.”
Anomalous health incidents refer to “Havana Syndrome,” or unexplained and sudden symptoms such as dizziness, pain, mental difficulties, and other symptoms reported by the U.S. government that first occurred in 2016.
Crossfire Hurricane drew controversy among Republicans, who said that it relied on false information to obtain a warrant to surveil a former Trump campaign aide, Carter Page.
Trump has long decried the FBI investigation and said it was part of a longstanding witch hunt meant to harm his presidency and reelection campaign. An investigation by former special counsel Robert Mueller found that Russia engaged in election interference in the 2016 election but did not find that Trump or his campaign colluded with the Kremlin.
Gabbard’s task force will also root out what it called “deep-seeded politicization” as well as expose “unauthorized disclosures of classified intelligence,” according to the statement.
The group is also working to revoke security clearances for people who “no longer have an active role in national security,” including former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), former Secretary of State and first lady Hillary Clinton, and former President Joe Biden.
Other work includes declassifying materials related to the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy. Last month, the Trump administration declassified documents relating to the JFK assassination in 1963 as part of the president’s executive order issued at the start of his presidency in January.
“President Trump promised the American people maximum transparency and accountability. We are committed to executing the President’s vision and focusing the Intelligence Community on its core mission,” Gabbard’s statement said.
Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii, was confirmed by the Senate in February by a 52–48 vote, with former Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell being the only Republican to vote against her confirmation.
During her first congressional hearing after assuming office, Gabbard was asked about a Signal chat group with members of the Trump White House that included messages about strikes in Yemen. Gabbard said that she did not share any classified information outside of official channels.
