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The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has reportedly extended a buyout offer to its entire workforce.
Under the direction of new CIA Director John Ratcliffe, the agency has initiated these sweeping changes by extending a generous eight-month pay and benefits package to any employee opting for resignation, the Wall Street Journal first reported.
Ratcliffe’s directive also freezes hiring and reevaluates current job offers, potentially rescinding those who do not align with the agency’s renewed objectives.
This move is seen as a direct implementation of Trump’s strategy to downsize the federal bureaucracy and reorient its functions towards pressing national security priorities, such as dismantling drug cartels and undermining global adversaries like China.
Meanwhile, the Senate intelligence panel has advanced Tulsi Gabbard’s nomination as the next Director of National Intelligence, suggesting further changes at the helm of the U.S. intelligence community may be on the horizon.
The Wall Street Journal reported:
Trump administration officials have said the offers are also meant to signal to those who oppose Trump’s agenda to find work elsewhere. Ratcliffe told the White House to extend the same buyout package to the CIA, the aide said, believing it would pave the way for a more aggressive spy agency.
A CIA spokeswoman said the move was part of an effort to “infuse the agency with renewed energy.”
In his confirmation hearing, Ratcliffe promised to launch more hard-edge spying operations and covert action, naming drug cartels and China as key adversaries. “To the brave CIA officers listening around the world, if all of that sounds like what you signed up for, then buckle up and get ready to make a difference,” he told lawmakers last month. “If it doesn’t then it’s time to find a new line of work.”
Trump’s CIA will have a greater focus on the Western Hemisphere, targeting countries not traditionally considered adversaries of the U.S., the aide said. For example, the CIA will use espionage to give Trump extra leverage in his trade negotiations, potentially spying on Mexico’s government amid the ongoing trade spat, the aide said. The CIA will also take on a significant role fighting Mexican drug cartels, the aide said, which Trump designated as terror groups on his first day in office.
For the decades after its creation, the CIA was focused on America’s rivalry with the Soviet Union. After 9/11, the agency transformed much of its workforce into a shadowy paramilitary force that could kill terrorists with drones. In recent years, the CIA has shifted back to focus on countries including China, which has been widely viewed by national security officials as the U.S.’s greatest long-term threat.
WATCH:
FOX NEWS ALERT: The @CIA has reportedly just offered a buyout to its entire workforce. pic.twitter.com/AoNSYdnaQJ
— Jesse Watters (@JesseBWatters) February 5, 2025
Last week, President Trump offered buyouts to millions of federal workers if they resigned by February 6.
The federal workers who accept Trump’s offer will receive pay and benefits through September 30.
Trump is offering the buyouts to make sure all federal workers are “on board with the new administration’s plan to have federal employees in office,” CNBC reported.
Only 6% of all federal workers actually work full-time in the office!
Trump’s offer does not include postal workers, military, immigration officials or people in national security roles.
On Tuesday, a senior administration official confirmed that over 20,000 federal workers have already accepted Donald Trump’s buyout offer.
Axios reported that while the number represents one percent of the federal workforce, it is still way below the White House target of between five and 10 percent.
“We expect more to come,” the administration official explained.
“If you see what’s happening at USAID, it’s just one piece of the puzzle.”
The post Mass Exodus on the Horizon: CIA Offers Buyouts to ITS ENTIRE WORKFORCE with Generous Eight-Month Pay & Benefits Package as Trump Moves to Downsize Federal Bureaucracy appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.