Acting US Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte says the Office of the Director of National Intelligence has completed its fourth round of layoffs since he took over. The cuts are part of a wider effort to shrink and refocus the office, but they have prompted concern that major organisational changes are being made under temporary leadership.

Pulte did not disclose how many staff were affected or which roles were cut. About 200 employees had reportedly been laid off, reassigned or returned to other agencies since 1 June, while the office has lost hundreds of staff over the past 18 months; its workforce is now reported to be little more than half of roughly 2,000 employees at the start of the administration.