Foreign intelligence agencies, including those of Russia and China, are reportedly attempting to recruit recently fired or at-risk U.S. federal employees working in national security, according to sources familiar with recent U.S. intelligence assessments who spoke to CNN.
According to a document reviewed by CNN, the intelligence community assesses with “high confidence” that foreign adversaries are seeking to capitalize on the layoffs to gain access to sensitive government information. These intelligence services are primarily targeting former employees with security clearances and probationary employees at risk of termination, believing they may be more vulnerable to recruitment efforts. At least two foreign governments have established recruitment websites and are aggressively reaching out to federal employees via LinkedIn, TikTok, RedNote, and Reddit, according to two sources familiar with the intelligence findings.
“It doesn’t take a lot of imagination to see that these cast-aside federal workers with a wealth of institutional knowledge represent staggeringly attractive targets to the intelligence services of our competitors and adversaries,” a source familiar with the intelligence assessments told CNN.
Another intelligence source noted that foreign operatives believe these employees “are at their most vulnerable right now—out of a job, bitter about being fired, etc.” At least one foreign intelligence officer reportedly directed an asset to create a company profile on LinkedIn, post a job advertisement, and actively engage with federal employees marked as “open to work,” according to a Naval Criminal Investigative Service document.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard dismissed concerns about foreign recruitment as a “threat” from disloyal government employees rather than a legitimate security risk.
The Trump administration has defended its federal downsizing efforts as a necessary move to cut “waste, bloat, and insularity” within the government. A directive issued by the Office of Personnel Management this week requires federal agencies to submit reorganization plans with “initial agency cuts and reductions” by March 13.
The Pentagon has also signaled that more than 5,000 probationary employees could face termination, and the CIA has already dismissed over 20 officers working on diversity programs. Eleven employees from the CIA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence were also terminated following Trump’s executive orders eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
Holden Triplett, a former FBI attaché in Moscow and Beijing and a former director for counterintelligence at the National Security Council, warned that the layoffs could unintentionally create ideal conditions for foreign recruitment. “Employees that feel they have been mistreated by an employer have historically been much more likely to disclose sensitive information,” Triplett told CNN. “We may be creating, albeit somewhat unintentionally, the perfect recruitment environment.”
The CIA has previously employed similar tactics, actively seeking to recruit disaffected government employees in adversarial nations such as Russia. In recent years, the agency has released public recruitment videos targeting disgruntled Russian officials, urging them to spy for the United States.
