What Trump's cuts to intelligence could mean for national security

Published May 27, 2025 at 9:14 AM EDT

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on May 20, 2025 in Washington, DC.

It's a classic Washington power move — the late-on-Friday news dump.

This past Friday, at 4:30pm, start of a long holiday weekend, about half the staff of the National Security Council got emails asking them to leave by 5pm. Dozens of people abruptly dismissed.

The restructuring of the NSC as Secretary of State and National Security advisor Marco Rubio has characterized it — continues a trend in this second term for President Trump, of radical downsizing.

The Trump administration plans to cut thousands of intelligence and national security jobs across the government.

The US Government has long relied on scores of intelligence officials across the government to keep America safe. Trump wants many of them gone – what could that mean for security at home and abroad?

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.