Trump 'Wants To Weaponize' Intelligence Agencies With Loyalist Appointments, Former Official Warns

In the event of a victory in the November presidential election, former President Donald Trump is anticipated to implement sweeping changes to the U.S. intelligence services, say officials from his previous administration.

According to an extensive new report by Politico, featuring interviews with 18 former White House officials, Trump is expected to install loyalists in senior intelligence positions, stripping key agencies of their capabilities and insulating the presidential hopeful within a bubble of his own political beliefs.

Yet the consequences of a Trump victory could extend far beyond the intelligence community and affect tens of thousands of civil servants. Since leaving office, the former president has repeatedly talked of reintroducing Schedule F, an executive order from his first term that would make it much easier to fire around 50,000 federal employees.

Management Changes At Top Intelligence Agencies

A source close to Trump’s team disclosed plans to revamp the CIA, reducing headquarters staff and increasing field agents, according to The Wall Street Journal. The source noted that the intelligence world has become “completely politicized,” emphasizing the need for agency restructuring and improved coordination. The CIA has not commented.

In Politico’s report, interviews with high-ranking former intelligence officials, still in contact with Trump, suggest he’s likely to pursue a significant restructuring of intelligence agencies if he returns to the White House.

Several officials expressed concern over the former president’s inclination to encircle himself with allies who might avoid presenting information that contradicts his political preferences.

Speaking to Politico, Fiona Hill, formerly the National Security Council’s senior advisor on Russia during Trump’s term, issued a warning that he “wants to weaponize” the intelligence community. She emphasized that such a move could dangerously limit the United States’ ability to fully assess and respond to global threats, given the need for a broad and unbiased intelligence perspective.

This would also undermine recent wins of U.S. agencies with foreign allies, who are reportedly growing more trustful of federal intelligence bodies.

John Bolton, who was Trump's national security advisor between 2018 and 2019, told Politico that "the chief requirements for duty will be how quickly you say ‘yes, sir.'" 

Also read: Trump Wants To Hasten Nomination Process Over Looming ‘Storm Clouds,’ Former Arkansas Governor Suggests

Bringing Schedule F Back Into Play

As Benzinga previously reported, Trump's intentions for a second term include reinstating a 2020 presidential order called Schedule F, which would remove barriers for firing federal employees.

According to the National Federation of Federal Employees, the Schedule F employment category derives from an order signed by Trump in October 2020. If reinstated, it would reassign all federal employees deemed to have some influence over policy to the Schedule F category, meaning they would "lose their employment and union protections upon re-assignment, making them functionally at-will employees and therefore far easier to fire." 

While the original Schedule F order only lasted a few months, as it was rescinded by President Joe Biden in the first weeks of his term, Trump mentioned the order at a rally in South Carolina in 2022, saying that his office “will pass critical reforms making every executive branch employee fireable by the president of the United States.” 

Polls continue to show a close match between Trump and Biden, with the most recent survey showing a slight lead by Trump against Biden of 51% to 49% in a hypothetical head-to-head scenario.

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Image created using artificial intelligence with MidJourney.