'A lot of people in there that shouldn’t be there': Trump orders fresh purge of officials

06/05/26 5:31 PM

President Donald Trump has instructed Bill Pulte, the controversial new acting head of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), to execute sweeping personnel cuts across the nation's 18 federal intelligence agencies and units before a permanent successor is confirmed.In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Trump revealed his explicit mandate to Pulte, who lacks the necessary security clearances, to dramatically reduce the size of an agency he views as "unnecessary and/or too big.""I'd like to see it smaller. I think there are a lot of people in there that shouldn't be there," Trump admitted to The Journal, specifically targeting career officials from the Biden and Obama administrations. When asked directly if he was ordering firings, Trump confirmed the instruction. "I want him to 'start the process,'" Trump said, adding that his eventual permanent nominee should continue the purge once confirmed.Trump bluntly framed Pulte's temporary status as an operational advantage rather than a limitation. "You're less shackled," Trump said of the acting designation. "It sort of gives you more power, you know, for a somewhat limited period of time."The president outlined a calculated strategy to complete major structural changes before his permanent appointee takes office, allowing the future ODNI to inherit a smaller, ideologically aligned agency rather than managing the cuts themselves."Frankly, it might be good for him to shake it up before people come," Trump explained. "Because, if he [Pulte] reduced the size, in conjunction with me…and in conjunction with possibly the person coming in…he can do a lot of the hard work and we wouldn't have to saddle somebody that goes in."The approach reflects Trump's broader effort to reshape the intelligence community according to his preferences, The Journal reported. Pulte, who has no prior intelligence experience and has been highly critical of the FBI and other agencies, is widely viewed as unlikely to survive Senate confirmation despite his acting appointment.Pulte and ODNI representatives declined to comment to The Journal on the directives.

'Brilliant' move to control Trump flagged by ex-insider

06/06/26 10:14 PM

Anthony Scaramucci, who served as White House Communications Director for 11 days in 2017 before being fired, is back with unsolicited but specific advice for anyone who has to deal with his former boss — and he has a case study.In a video clip posted to X this week, Scaramucci laid out three rules: never take Trump's call on his terms, don't respond when he comes at you, and tell people you're ready for a fight. "Elbows up," he said. "When you do that with him, he comes towards you. My advice is you gotta push and shove with Trump. If you're overly kowtowing to him and laying down, forget it — never gonna work."Then he got specific. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Scaramucci said, executed the strategy perfectly after winning his election earlier this year. Carney didn't call Trump to celebrate. He waited. "Trump was like, 'What the hell is going on?'" Scaramucci said. When Trump's team finally reached out, Carney set conditions: address him as Prime Minister, issue a communiqué after the call, and acknowledge Canada as a sovereign nation — not a "51st state." If Trump started "his bulls---," Carney wasn't taking the call, Scaramucci said."That's what Carney did, and the meeting went quite well," Scaramucci added. "Because Mark Carney knows how to forecheck in hockey. You have to forecheck Donald Trump."The advice is consistent with what Scaramucci has been saying publicly since his brief and chaotic stint in the Trump White House, where he was hired by one chief of staff and fired by the next before he had officially started the job. He has since become one of Trump's more colorful Republican critics — and, apparently, an informal coach for anyone else who has to sit across the table from him.Three quick things for anyone dealing with Trump.1. Never take the phone call on his terms.2. Don’t respond when he comes at you.3. Tell people — elbows up, I’m ready for the fight.When you do that, he comes toward you.Push and shove with Trump and he respects it. Lay… pic.twitter.com/EHjbjZC34B— Anthony Scaramucci (@Scaramucci) June 6, 2026

'Don't be absurd!' Scott Bessent loses it as Dem pins him on Trump's Iran claims

06/04/26 7:48 PM

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent snapped "Don't be absurd!" at a Democratic lawmaker Thursday after getting cornered on the administration's rosy claims about the Iran conflict — a tense exchange that exposed the widening gap between White House spin and reality on the ground.During a House Ways and Means Committee hearing on the Treasury Department's budget priorities, Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL) pressed Bessent on an offhand remark the secretary had made suggesting the conflict with Iran was over."Do you truly believe that we are no longer in conflict with Iran and that they are no longer a threat to Israel or allies in the Gulf, that their nuclear program has been destroyed, that they no longer have a ballistic missile program and drone program threatening its neighbors in the region?" Schneider demanded.Bessent walked it back fast. "The conflict is on pause," he said."So everything's good with Iran now?" Schneider pushed."No. Don't be absurd."The back-and-forth cut to the heart of the administration's credibility problem on Iran. The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that President Donald Trump has told aides privately he would only consider ending the ceasefire if Tehran kills American troops — a far cry from the decisive victory the White House has been claiming. The U.S. and Israel launched the war on Feb. 28 in strikes that killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, but a ceasefire has been in effect since April 8.Bessent cited Trump's statement, telling Schneider that unless an American life is lost, the president does not believe he will have to restart "kinetic action."The exchange grew heated again when Schneider pivoted to the cost of living, rattling off rising prices for beef, coffee, housing, and health insurance. Bessent interrupted repeatedly, at one point shouting "Sir! Sir!" as Schneider reclaimed his time."I think you're just out of touch with what American families are facing," Schneider told him.Bessent fired back with a broadside at Schneider's home state: "No wonder so many people are leaving Illinois. Why don't you come see me in South Carolina?"The two did find rare agreement on one point — that no president, Republican or Democrat, should be shielded from IRS audits — before Schneider circled back to the administration's controversial IRS settlement, which Democrats have called an illegal act of self-dealing.