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FBI Denounces House Plan to Give DNI Counterintelligence Approval Power

The bureau’s unclassified warning focuses Congress on reconciling bills that diverge on whether to expand ODNI’s authority.

U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard speaks during an event where U.S. President Donald Trump delivered an announcement on his Homeland Security Task Force in the State Dinning Room of the White House on October 23, 2025 in Washington, DC.
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Overview

  • The FBI, in an unclassified Oct. 30 letter to Congress, said a House proposal would cause “serious and long-lasting damage” to national security.
  • The House bill would require ODNI approval for counterintelligence activities, a vague mandate the FBI says could intrude on Justice Department prosecutions and chains of command.
  • The bureau argues the change would add bureaucracy and shift decisions to officials without frontline counterintelligence expertise, pointing to its decades of work and 53 field offices.
  • CIA and other intelligence officials share many of the FBI’s objections, according to reporting, even as ODNI and the FBI issued a joint statement pledging to work with Congress.
  • Senate drafts avoid transferring operational control to ODNI, with lawmakers such as Sen. Mark Warner opposing such a shift and House Intelligence Chair Rick Crawford backing the House approach.