This guy is delivering surprises seemingly on an hourly basis. And by “this guy,” I mean our 45th and 47th president of the United States, Donald Trump.
A
month ago, did you think we’d be talking about buying Greenland?
Re-taking control of the Panama Canal? Creating a sovereign wealth fund,
turning Gaza into a paradise, nuking USAID, etc., etc., etc. You might
have predicted some of these moves, but if you prophesied them all, you
need to be playing the stock market—and you need to be giving me tips.
In yet another move I didn’t see coming, the Trump administration offered buyouts to some CIA employees… no wait, make that the entire workforce. That’s what happened Tuesday night, according to a report:
The
Central Intelligence Agency offered buyouts to its entire workforce
Tuesday, citing an aim to bring the agency in line with U.S. President
Donald Trump's priorities, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The
U.S. spy agency is also freezing the hiring of job applicants already
given a conditional offer, the WSJ reported, quoting an aide to CIA
Director John Ratcliffe.
The aide, not named in the report, said
some of those frozen offers are likely to be rescinded if the applicants
do not have the right background for the agency's new goals, which
include targeting drug cartels, Trump's trade war and undermining China.
The above tweet continues:
According
to the report, CIA Director John Ratcliffe is leading the charge,
signaling that the agency will become leaner, more aggressive, and
focused on real threats.
In a blunt statement, he told CIA
officers: “To the brave CIA officers listening around the world, if all
of that sounds like what you signed up for, then buckle up and get ready
to make a difference. If it doesn’t, then it’s time to find a new line
of work.”
This is literally one of the biggest shake-ups in CIA history.
A New Day at the CIA: Ratcliffe Memo Promises Huge Changes at the CIA—It Will Be the 'Ultimate Meritocracy'
Trump's New CIA Director Ratcliffe Torches John Brennan As 'One of the Worst Things' Ever to Stain Agency
Reportedly, employees can quit and get eight months of pay and benefits.
The
secretive agency didn’t have a lot to say about the report, but a
spokesperson did indicate that it’s because Trump wants only team
players in his administration:
The agency does not
disclose its budget or the number of people it employs. It did not
immediately respond to a request for comment.
A CIA spokeswoman told the Journal that the move was part of an effort to "infuse the agency with renewed energy."
The
report of buyout offers is in line with a massive makeover of the U.S.
government embarked on by the Trump administration, which has fired and
sidelined hundreds of civil servants in first steps toward downsizing
the bureaucracy and installing more loyalists.
The White House
last week offered 2 million civilian full-time federal workers an
opportunity to stop working this week and receive pay and benefits
through Sept. 30 as Trump seeks to slash the size of the government.
My colleague Becky Noble wrote a great article on Tuesday
about how the Corrupt Corporate Press is freaking out lately because
they finally have to actually do some work after four long years of
Sleepy Joe Biden’s administration, where he often called a lid before
lunch, barely ever talked to the press, and when he did, their main job
was simply to cover for his declining mental skills and call it a day.
But it’s keeping conservative journalists crazy busy, too—I can’t sit
down for a bite without a new alert with some new stunning,
out-of-the-box decision he’s made. I’m sure as heck not complaining,
though—it’s a crazy time to be alive, and I’m loving it.
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