USA 
United Kingdom
Former CIA director and veteran US diplomat, Willam Burns, has launched a strong attack on Donald Trump’s removal of federal employees, describing it as retribution that weakens US security.
“Under the guise of reform, you all got caught in the crossfire of a retribution campaign - of a war on public service and expertise,” Burns wrote in a “Letter to America’s Discarded Public Servants” published in The Atlantic.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
‘This is not about reform’
Burns, who was CIA director under former President Joe Biden and served under three Democratic and three Republican presidents, said civil servants understand the need for reform.
“But there is a smart way and a dumb way to tackle reform, a humane way and an intentionally traumatizing way,” he said. “This is not about reform. It’s about retribution. It’s about breaking people and breaking institutions by sowing fear and mistrust throughout our government.”
“That's what autocrats do,” Burns said. “They cow public servants into submission, and in doing so, they create a closed system that is free of opposing views and inconvenient concerns.”
Warning on national security
He cited Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “foolish decision” to launch the 2022 invasion of Ukraine as an example of the risks of shutting down debate, saying the Kremlin faced “catastrophic” results.
The threat to the US, he wrote, “is not from an imaginary ‘deep state’ bent on” undermining Trump, but “a weak state...no longer able to uphold the guardrails of our democracy or help the United States compete in an unforgiving world.”
Burns’ letter specifically criticized Trump’s removal of State Department staff and intelligence officers, arguing the firings leave government hollowed out and incapable of protecting long-term national interests.
