Washington DC - President Donald Trump said he wants his incoming acting intelligence chief to start the process of firing employees, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal published Friday.
Trump said he had privately told Bill Pulte, a former housing official, that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence is "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 told the WSJ.
Asked if he was calling on Pulte to fire people, Trump said he wants him to "start the process."
Democrats have condemned Trump's naming of Pulte on Tuesday to oversee the 18 US intelligence agencies, pointing to the loyalist's history of targeting the president's enemies while chief of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
He has used mortgage records to support investigations of Trump adversaries, including Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and Democratic Senator Adam Schiff.
Many lawmakers have also called out Pulte's lack of national security experience, with Democratic Senator Mark Warner slamming him as "grossly unqualified" for the position, which was previously held by Tulsi Gabbard.