The Central Intelligence Agency offered buyouts to its entire workforce on Tuesday, aiming to bring the agency in line with US President Donald Trump’s priorities, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
A CIA spokesperson stated that these moves were intended to align the agency with the goals of new CIA Director John Ratcliffe.
“Director Ratcliffe is moving swiftly to ensure the CIA workforce is responsive to the Administration’s national security priorities. These moves are part of a holistic strategy to infuse the Agency with renewed energy,” the CIA spokesperson said in a statement.
The agency does not disclose its budget or the number of people it employs. It did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Wall Street Journal was the first to report the news.
The buyout offers align with a massive overhaul of the US government initiated by the Trump administration, which has fired and sidelined hundreds of civil servants as part of early steps to downsize the bureaucracy and install loyalists in key positions.
Last week, the White House offered 2 million civilian full-time federal workers the opportunity to stop working this week and receive pay and benefits through September 30, as Trump seeks to reduce the size of the government.
Earlier on Tuesday, unions representing US government employees filed a lawsuit to block the Trump administration’s plan to offer buyouts to federal workers.
Ratcliffe, a former member of the House of Representatives who served as Director of National Intelligence during Trump’s first term, was confirmed by the US Senate as CIA Director days after Trump took office for his second term.
