RUSI JournalVOLUME 171ISSUE 6

Trump and the Undermining of US Intelligence Power

Huw Dylan and Elena Grossfeld
10 September 2026clock20 Minute Read
The Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard briefs President Donald Trump in the Oval Office, 23 July 2025. Courtesy of Office of the Director of National Intelligence/Flickr

The Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard briefs President Donald Trump in the Oval Office, 23 July 2025. Courtesy of Office of the Director of National Intelligence/Flickr

The authors of this Research Article conclude that the Trump administration’s favouring constant affirmation over truth-to-power will ultimately harm America and its allies.

Huw Dylan and Elena Grossfeld make two key points on the management of the US Intelligence Community (USIC) under Donald Trump’s administration. First, that the administration is degrading USIC capacity. They illustrate that the root of this decay is a policy of politicisation. Second, that there is now a process of ‘platform decay’. Trump is hollowing out US intelligence as he attempts to reshape US intelligence culture. In doing so, he risks diminishing American intelligence power.

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WRITTEN BY

Huw Dylan

Reader in Intelligence at International Security at Kings' College London.

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Elena Grossfeld

PhD Candidate at the Department of War Studies, King's College London

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