Russian, Chinese intelligence seek to recruit fired US federal employees, CNN reports
Russian and Chinese intelligence agencies are attempting to recruit U.S. federal employees working in national security who were impacted by the Trump administration's layoffs, CNN reported on March 1, citing four undisclosed sources and an intelligence report.
In efforts spearheaded by Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the U.S. government launched a mass firing of government employees and gutted federal agencies like USAID.
These steps, presented as cutting waste and realigning government policies with President Donald Trump's "America First" agenda, could be followed by further layoffs in the civil service in the near future.
Washington's foreign adversaries are seeking to leverage the situation and recruit employees who were recently fired — or are in danger of being laid off — and have security clearance or access to sensitive information on critical infrastructure, CNN wrote.
Foreign intelligence operatives were instructed to look for potential sources on LinkedIn, TikTok, RedNote, and Reddit, the outlet reported, citing a document by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
The CIA has already fired about 20 officers working in diversity and recruitment, which is seen as only a first step before what the New York Times described as "one of the largest mass firings in the agency’s history."
The Pentagon, in turn, announced plans to lay off 5,400 probationary employees, representing roughly 5-8% of its civilian workforce.
The last few weeks saw the Trump administration take steps described by critics as friendly toward Moscow, publicly denouncing the Ukrainian leadership and launching direct talks with Russia in a supposed effort to broker a peace deal.
According to recent media reporting, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has also ordered the U.S. Cyber Command to suspend offensive cyber and information operations against Russia amid the diplomatic outreach.
Chris York
