WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The CIA has fired some probationary employees as part of the Trump administration’s broad efforts to shrink the federal government, according to a spokeswoman for the agency.

The agency has been reviewing employees who have worked for the CIA for two years or less, a group that includes everything from analysts to young officers training to work undercover overseas and has now terminated some of those people.

“Our officers face unique pressures from working in situations that are fast-paced and high-stakes — it’s not for everyone,” the spokeswoman said in a statement confirming the firings.

It is not clear how many officers have been let go. The New York Times first reported the firings.

The CIA had already moved to fire more than a dozen officers for working on diversity issues last month, in what amounted to an initial round of mass firings at the agency. Those officers challenged their dismissal in court but were rebuffed by a federal judge who ruled last week that CIA Director John Ratcliffe had the right to fire officers at will.

Foreign adversaries including Russia and China have recently directed their intelligence services to ramp up recruiting of US federal employees working in national security, targeting those who have been fired or feel they could be soon, CNN has previously reported.

The intelligence indicates that foreign adversaries are eager to exploit the Trump administration’s efforts to conduct mass layoffs across the federal workforce.

The-CNN-Wire
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