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The aide, not named in the report, said some of those frozen offers are likely to be rescinded if the applicants do not have the right background for the agency’s new goals, which include targeting drug cartels, Trump’s trade war and undermining China.
HOLY SMOKES: The CIA just offered a BUYOUT to its entire workforce.
This bombshell report comes from The Wall Street Journal, revealing that every single CIA employee has been given the option to RESIGN with a buyout package worth approximately eight months of pay and benefits.… pic.twitter.com/ekNqP4mqKx
— The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) February 5, 2025
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’
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.
Today’s winning report:
President Trump fired 1,000 EPA employees, pulled out of UNWRA and the human rights council, announced his plans to own Gaza, sent DOGE into the FBI, got his veterans secretary and AG approved, shut down USAID, and offered to buy out the entire CIA. pic.twitter.com/c7PrCThmiS
— Whale Psychiatrist ™️ (@k_ovfefe2) February 5, 2025
