Fierce conflict between America's main spy agencies. The CIA refuses to contribute any more information. The reason for the discord

The CIA, the US Central Intelligence Agency, has stopped contributing to some intelligence assessments, including those related to the war with Iran, which are developed by the National Intelligence Service (ODNI), amid intensifying disputes over the exchange of information and the delimitation of the responsibilities of each agency, Reuters reports citing sources familiar with the situation.

• The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) is the top federal agency that coordinates and integrates the work of all 18 agencies of the United States Intelligence Community.
• ODNI's role is to improve information sharing among the 18 intelligence and security agencies (including the CIA, NSA, and FBI) ​​and to provide the US President with the Presidential Daily Brief.
• The director of ODNI is also the main national security adviser to the US president.

The conflict between the CIA and ODNI has been going on for more than a year, disrupting the collaboration on national security analyzes that presidents have long relied on to manage complex foreign policy challenges, a US official and three people with direct knowledge of the situation told Reuters.

The Reuters sources spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive domestic matters.

At the heart of the disagreement is a dispute over a task force established in April 2025 by Tulsi Gabbard, director of the national intelligence community, the sources said.

The CIA, led by Director John Ratcliffe, claims the “Director's Initiative Group” set up by Gabbard acted recklessly, bypassing traditional protocols for sharing information and declassifying documents, two of the sources said. On the other hand, ODNI officials claim that the CIA has repeatedly blocked this group's access to classified information.

This breakdown in cooperation between US intelligence agencies comes at a critical time for President Donald Trump's administration, as the United States is embroiled in a conflict with Iran and faces national security challenges ranging from China's military expansion to Russia's war on Ukraine.

Tulsi Gabbard announced last week that she would be stepping down as chief intelligence officer effective June 30, citing her husband's illness.

On Tuesday, Donald Trump announced that he was appointing Bill Pulte, the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, to the position of acting director of National Intelligence. Pulte, who has no national security experience, is considered close to the White House leader and was a major donor during his re-election campaign.

“President Trump has full confidence in his national security team”

Regarding the tense situation within the intelligence community, ODNI spokeswoman Olivia Coleman said that “the president and policymakers continue to receive the best information and analysis” from the intelligence agencies, adding that ODNI and the agencies it coordinates “communicate and collaborate daily, including with CIA counterparts, across the spectrum of intelligence products and operations.”

The ODNI spokeswoman also stated that Gabbard's Initiatives Group “operated within the scope of ODNI's oversight duties and in support of executive orders issued by the President of the United States.”

Likewise, the White House spokesman, Davis Ingle, stated that “President Trump's foreign policy, based on the principle of 'peace through strength', is a time-tested approach that keeps America safe and deters global threats.”

He added that attempts by the media to create the impression of internal divisions will fail. “President Trump has complete confidence in his entire exceptional national security team,” Ingle said.

Less collaboration in developing intelligence assessments

The CIA's decision to significantly reduce its contributions to the assessments produced by Tulsi Gabbard's office represents one of the most serious consequences of the mutual distrust between the two institutions.

The CIA was one of the main contributors to the reports produced by the National Intelligence Council, the main analytical body of the United States intelligence community. These reports are especially influential in times of war.

Two of Reuters' sources with direct knowledge of the situation said the assessments of Iran – a country the US military has been fighting since late February – are among those the agency no longer regularly participates in.

According to the sources, the CIA and ODNI now operate largely as two separate analytical structures, each operating independently of the other.