Obama’s former CIA Director is furious that the Trump administration is cleaning house.
He went on television to express his outrage.
And John Brennan suffered a total meltdown over Tulsi Gabbard firing these two CIA officials.
Former Obama official outraged over intelligence community shakeup
Former CIA Director John Brennan is having a meltdown over Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s decision to fire two career intelligence officials.
Brennan appeared on MSNBC to express his outrage over the termination of Michael Collins and Marie Riekhof, who he described as “two of the most experienced, accomplished, and talented analysts in the entire U.S. intelligence community.”
“This whole thing just makes me livid. It’s appalling and outrageous and demonstrates why Tulsi Gabbard never should have been confirmed as Director of National Intelligence,” Brennan fumed during his appearance.
The former Obama official claimed the firings would have “real reverberations within the workforce” and send a chilling message to other intelligence analysts.
“You tell the truth, you provide objective analysis as you’re supposed to be doing, you are running the risk of getting fired,” Brennan claimed.
.@POTUS: The gleaming marvels of Riyadh and Abu Dhabi were not created by the so-called nation-builders… who spent trillions of dollars failing to develop Kabul and Baghdad… the birth of a modern Middle East has been brought about by the people of the region themselves. pic.twitter.com/SluRou2mv6
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 13, 2025
Gabbard cleaning house after Senate confirmation
Tulsi Gabbard was confirmed as Director of National Intelligence in the Senate earlier this year after a contentious confirmation process.
Trump nominated the former Democrat Congresswoman and Army Lieutenant Colonel to lead the intelligence community, praising her commitment to transparency and oversight.
During her confirmation hearings, Gabbard pledged to restore trust in America’s intelligence agencies and ensure they serve American interests rather than partisan political goals.
The firings of Collins and Riekhof appear to be part of a broader effort to reshape the intelligence community’s leadership, which has faced criticism for politicization in recent years.
Deep State pushback intensifies
Brennan’s public tantrum signals the growing alarm among former Obama-era officials as the Trump administration makes personnel changes across government agencies.
During the MSNBC interview, Brennan specifically mentioned his concerns about the intelligence community’s approach to Russia and Vladimir Putin, as well as the administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act.
“It portends real danger,” Brennan warned, claiming intelligence professionals are “very concerned about the selections for individuals at the top of the intelligence community and across the government.”
What Brennan didn’t mention was his own controversial tenure as CIA Director, which included spying on Senate staffers, misleading Congress about surveillance programs that capture law-abidding Americans’ private communications without a warrant, and a massive expansion of drone strikes – including on an American citizen and his 16-year old son.
Reform or politicization?
Trump administration officials have defended the personnel changes as necessary to implement the president’s vision for intelligence agencies that are more transparent and accountable to elected officials.
“We have already seen it at CIA in terms of the termination of individuals who are working on diversity, equity, and inclusion programs—even though they may have been reassigned to other positions, they are being terminated, they are being condemned,” Brennan complained.
The former CIA Director concluded his rant by claiming that the changes reflect “the sense that’s coming from the White House that people have to get in line” and show “fealty to Donald Trump.”
“If you’re not going to genuflect at his altar, you’re going to see the door,” Brennan said.
MSNBC host Nicole Wallace seemed to agree with Brennan’s concerns, questioning what it means that “two senior intelligence officials have been fired because the intelligence product didn’t support a false rationale for invoking the Alien Enemies Act.”
Both Brennan and Wallace failed to provide evidence that the officials were fired for refusing to produce false intelligence.
The Trump administration has repeatedly stated its commitment to accurate intelligence that serves American interests rather than partisan agendas, with Gabbard’s leadership seen as key to implementing those reforms.
