Appeals Court Orders CIA and ODNI to Rehire 19 Fired Intelligence Officers

A federal appeals court has ordered the Trump administration to rehire 19 career intelligence officers at the CIA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence who were fired after temporary assignments working on diversity initiatives, ruling 2-1 in a decision reported on July 3, 2026 that the agencies failed to follow their own regulations and violated the employees' due-process rights. The panel found that the agencies' termination rules gave employees the right to be considered for reassignment and to appeal a termination decision. Government lawyers had argued that CIA Director John Ratcliffe and the director of national intelligence held authority to terminate employees with or without cause.

The case tests the limits of the administration's authority to remove career national-security personnel swept up in its government-wide rollback of diversity programs, and whether internal agency rules constrain such firings.

It was not immediately clear when the officers would return to work, and the administration is expected to appeal. The CIA and ODNI did not respond to requests for comment.