Senior officials at the FBI and CIA are resisting a Trump administration initiative to create a centralized database containing information on U.S. intelligence operations, citing concerns that such a system could expose sensitive investigations and compromise national security, according to a report from The New York Times.
The effort is being led by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), which was first overseen by former Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and is now headed by acting Director Bill Pulte. The office was created after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to improve coordination and information sharing across the intelligence community.
According to the report, President Donald Trump supports the creation of a master database to help agencies better coordinate intelligence operations, track foreign threats and prevent different agencies from unknowingly targeting the same individuals.
However, the proposal has encountered significant resistance from senior counterintelligence officials, who have reportedly declined to provide the requested information because of concerns over how the database would be maintained and secured.
For the FBI, the database would include information on espionage targets under investigation and individuals who could eventually face criminal charges. For the CIA, it would contain information on prospective foreign assets the agency hopes to recruit for intelligence operations.
Current and former intelligence officials told The New York Times that consolidating such highly sensitive information into a single system could create substantial security risks if the database were ever compromised.
The identities of intelligence targets and prospective assets are among the government’s most closely guarded secrets and are typically restricted to a limited number of personnel within each agency.
The dispute also highlights broader tensions between ODNI and the nation’s intelligence agencies following Gabbard’s departure from the position.
Pulte, who was appointed acting director without Senate confirmation, has continued pursuing the administration’s intelligence reform agenda. In addition to supporting the centralized database, he has overseen workforce reductions within ODNI and initiatives related to investigations into the 2020 election.
His appointment has drawn criticism from some current and former intelligence officials because he entered the role without previous national security experience.
According to officials familiar with the discussions, some within the intelligence community had expected the database proposal to be abandoned following the leadership transition, but the effort has continued under Pulte.
Supporters of the initiative argue that the database could function similarly to existing terrorist watchlists by allowing agencies to identify overlapping operations, improve coordination and reduce the likelihood of conflicts between investigations, per the Daily Mail.
Critics counter that intelligence operations differ significantly from watchlists because they often involve covert surveillance, confidential human sources and sensitive recruitment efforts. They argue that concentrating such information in a single database increases the risk that unauthorized access or a security breach could expose ongoing operations or alert foreign intelligence services.
The disagreement remains unresolved, with intelligence officials continuing to debate how much information, if any, should be shared with ODNI.
According to The New York Times, discussions are continuing behind closed doors as administration officials seek to advance the proposal while intelligence agencies weigh the operational and security implications of creating a centralized repository for some of the nation’s most sensitive intelligence information.
