Tulsi Gabbard, the Director of National Intelligence, is shifting the assembly of the President’s Daily Intelligence Brief from the CIA headquarters to her own office, per officials informed about the transition.
This brief, which summarizes intelligence and analysis concerning global hotspots and national security risks, is overseen and presented to the president by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. However, much of the analysis is crafted by CIA officers using the agency’s classified systems for compiling articles and graphics.
Ms. Gabbard’s decision comes amid President Trump’s ongoing contemplation about the necessity of the office she manages, which was established post-9/11 to enhance coordination among agencies. According to sources familiar with his comments, Ms. Gabbard has engaged in discussions with Mr. Trump regarding his concerns and has contemplated how to reform the office.
The announcement was made internally on Tuesday, with CIA staff receiving a memo from the agency’s directorate of analysis indicating that this move had been considered multiple times in the past.
The memo, as reported to The New York Times, noted that there were “many details to be sorted out regarding transition timelines and our own processes.” The infrastructure required for the briefing is substantial and currently owned by the CIA, making relocation or replication at Ms. Gabbard’s office challenging.
The relocation of daily brief production was one of two decisions made by Ms. Gabbard on Tuesday; she also mandated the National Intelligence Council to move to her headquarters.
These actions are part of Ms. Gabbard’s strategy to reinforce the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and secure oversight over critical functions of her role. Critics suggest that her agency’s work should revert to the CIA, currently led by John Ratcliffe.
An official from Ms. Gabbard’s office remarked that physically relocating the daily brief intends to enhance response times to specific inquiries, aiming to provide the president with more “timely and actionable” insights.
A White House spokesman did not reply to an email requesting comment, particularly regarding whether Mr. Trump had questioned the continuity of the O.D.N.I. as an agency. The CIA declined to comment.
Former intelligence officials have expressed doubts about the move. Beth Sanner, who oversaw the President’s Intelligence Brief during Trump’s first administration, deemed it “a major mistake.”
“Ultimately, and ironically, this would likely diminish the O.D.N.I. role by detaching their oversight from the CIA teams responsible for most of the work,” Ms. Sanner stated. She added, “This could lead to inefficiencies and increase the risk of miscommunication and errors. Paradoxically, it might ultimately reduce the O.D.N.I.’s oversight and enhance CIA control—essentially, out of sight, out of mind.”
The CIA’s memo indicated that while the directorate of analysis’s role in supporting the daily brief would change, “we will stay laser-focused on the president’s and Director Ratcliffe’s priorities and our core mission — generating and delivering impactful insights, free from political or personal bias.”
It remains uncertain how many CIA personnel assigned to the P.D.B., as it is known, and to the National Intelligence Council will transition. Sources familiar with the situation noted that several employees are seeking new placements to avoid moving to Ms. Gabbard’s office.
The relocation of the National Intelligence Council was previously reported by Fox News, which also noted that Ms. Gabbard had dismissed the acting chair, Michael Collins, along with his deputy. Mr. Collins, a senior CIA officer, has been returned to the CIA.
Mr. Collins is recognized for his expertise on China. During the Biden administration, he contributed to strategic planning that led to the CIA’s China Mission Center. Mr. Ratcliffe has commended the focus on China and pledged to bolster those initiatives.
Mr. Collins and the council were involved in a dispute regarding Mr. Trump’s assertion in March that the criminal gang, Tren de Aragua, is controlled by Venezuela’s government. This claim serves as a pivotal basis for Mr. Trump’s invocation of a wartime law to deport individuals alleged to be linked to the gang to a Salvadoran prison without due process.
In February, the intelligence community disseminated an assessment reaching a conflicting conclusion. The administration requested the National Intelligence Council to re-evaluate the evidence, but a subsequent April memo reaffirmed the original findings contrary to Mr. Trump’s claim.
Laura Loomer, a far-right activist, has attacked the National Intelligence Council on social media as “career anti-Trump bureaucrats” who “should be replaced if they wish to advocate for open borders,” sharing images of Mr. Collins’s résumé along with an article about the council’s assessment.
An official familiar with the matter denied any connection between Mr. Collins’s removal and the Venezuela assessment or Ms. Loomer.
Prior to the establishment of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in 2004, the CIA was responsible for compiling the President’s Daily Brief and overseeing the National Intelligence Council, which integrates various intelligence agencies to analyze issues and create intelligence estimates and assessments.
Following the transfer of responsibility for both to the Director of National Intelligence, the operations remained at the CIA’s headquarters in Langley, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C. The reasoning was that analysts and officers involved in the products would benefit from proximity to the CIA analysts who drafted most of the articles. The headquarters of the Director of National Intelligence, known as Liberty Crossing, is located a few miles away.
However, an official briefed on the decision stated that relocating the P.D.B. and the National Intelligence Council to the Director of National Intelligence’s headquarters would enable Ms. Gabbard and her team to modify the brief in response to inquiries from Mr. Trump and other policymakers.
Mr. Trump appointed Ms. Gabbard to this role relatively early in the presidential transition. He has questioned the continued operation of the office and discussed with Ms. Gabbard potential reforms, according to a source familiar with these discussions. Some observers have suggested that the office may have outlived its effectiveness, prompting discussions regarding whether it has expanded beyond its originally intended scope.
Taking control of the daily brief’s production may provide Ms. Gabbard with a closer connection to Mr. Trump and his inner circle in the West Wing.
A range of senior officials receive a version of the brief and often have a personal briefer. These officials typically send inquiries or requests back to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
Congress assigned oversight of the National Intelligence Council and the President’s Daily Brief to the office to guarantee that it assessed information from all intelligence agencies, not solely the CIA. Ms. Gabbard’s decision would position those working on the brief closer to those overseeing the final product.
Since assuming the role, Ms. Gabbard has consistently aimed to convey her attentiveness to Mr. Trump’s expressed interests on social media, including stating that all files related to President John F. Kennedy’s assassination would be immediately declassified without redactions, aligning with the president’s wishes.
Ultimately, tens of thousands of pages were released, some of which contained visible Social Security numbers, prompting the White House to take measures to control the fallout.
To date, the files have not revealed any information that sheds new light on the individuals responsible for the assassination.
Charlie Savage and Mark Mazzetti contributed reporting.