DHS to cut 75% of staff in intelligence office amid heightened threat environment
The exact timing of the cuts remains unclear; sources tell CBS News the staff reductions have been in the works for months but were temporarily on hold because of rising tensions overseas after the recent U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. The decision has raised concerns among the nation's police and intelligence gathering agencies, as the U.S. reckons with a heightened threat environment.
DHS' Office of Intelligence & Analysis — created after the September 11 terrorist attacks — is the only member of the U.S. intelligence community tasked with sharing threat information to state, local, tribal and territorial governments across the country.
Last month, the current head of the agency, Daniel Tamburello, informed the intelligence agency's workforce that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem had signed off on plans to slash the agency by hundreds of employees, with others reassigned to other DHS components, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
This week, House and Senate lawmakers wrote to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, warning them to avoid "this drastic and unilateral step and instead to consult with Congress about alternative ways to make I&A as effective and efficient as possible."
"At a time when DHS is rightly warning about an elevated threat environment from terrorists and cartels, we should be focused on plugging security gaps rather than senselessly creating new ones," Democratic Reps. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi and Jim Himes of Connecticut wrote Wednesday, along with Michigan Sen. Gary Peters and minority leaders on the House Homeland Security Committee, House Intelligence Committee and Senate Homeland Security Committee.
Several law enforcement agencies — including the Major Cities Chiefs Association, County Sheriffs of America and the Association of State Criminal Investigative Agencies — also penned a letter to Noem, pressing her to reconsider. They warned that any downsizing of the intelligence agency could prevent "vital intelligence" from reaching the officers and investigators whose job it is to detect and disrupt threats and could create "dangerous blind spots in our homeland security network."
"[Intelligence and Analysis] is the only component of the U.S. intelligence community with a statutory mandate to share threat information with state and local partners," the letter stated. "The current threat landscape makes our partnership with [Intelligence and Analysis] more critical than ever. Ongoing Middle East conflicts heighten risks of foreign-directed and homegrown violent extremism, as demonstrated by the recent antisemitic attack in Boulder, Colorado. Transnational criminal organizations continue to shift fentanyl trafficking routes, requiring real time intelligence to intercept deadly substances before they reach our streets… Weakening [Intelligence & Analysis] would undermine our ability to detect and prevent threats before they occur."
Mike Sena, president of the National Fusion Center Association, a network of 2,000 public safety officials operating as hubs of information sharing and threat analysis for local law enforcement, also wrote to congressional leaders on the House Appropriations Committee last month. He warned that "any reduction in [Intelligence and Analysis'] field-based presence, staffing, or engagement capabilities would negatively impact the critical information flow and coordination necessary to identify and mitigate emerging threats to our communities."
Leaders within the National Sheriffs' Associations had a similar message for congressional leaders last month, writing in a letter to GOP Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, that "[Intelligence & Analysis] is a critical partner in the operations of many of the country's regional fusion centers… at the center of detecting threats from organized crime, threats to election security, and threats from domestic violence extremism."
Last month, the Department of Homeland Security activated its National Terrorism Advisory System, alerting more than 18,000 law enforcement agencies nationwide of possible "violent extremists and hate crime perpetrators seeking to attack targets perceived to be Jewish, pro-Israel, or linked to the US government or military in the Homeland."
"US law enforcement has disrupted multiple potentially lethal Iranian-backed plots in the United States since 2020," the bulletin read. "During this timeframe, the Iranian government has also unsuccessfully targeted critics of its regime who are based in the Homeland for lethal attack.
Offices within the intelligence community, including the CIA and National Security Agency, have faced similar buyouts and workforce reductions in recent months, as well as the nation's top cyber defense agency.
The cuts were first reported by NextGov/FCW.
DHS' intelligence wing has faced some criticism in recent years for its collection of intelligence on journalists and protesters during the George Floyd protests in 2020, plus its failure to disseminate critical intelligence ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
While testifying before Congress, Matthew Kozma, Trump's new pick to lead Intelligence & Analysis, underscored the importance of reinforcing the federal government's talent pipeline, telling lawmakers, "It's imperative that [the agency's] analysts be informed, educated and trained on the latest know-how and toolsets to optimally apply available knowledge, insights, and acumen for mission accomplishment."
"Our intelligence and analytical tradecraft requires a unique combination of skill, curiosity, dedication, vigilance, and trustworthiness to ensure that the information and intelligence we extract and share is correct, comprehensive, and corroborated," Kozma said in his opening statement.
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