Russia and China trying to recruit disgruntled US federal workers - CNN
Photo: Russia and China are trying to recruit disgruntled US federal employees (Getty Images)
The Russian Federation and China are attempting to recruit US federal employees, with a particular focus on those who have been laid off due to significant job cuts, according to CNN.
Anonymous sources familiar with recent US intelligence data told the publication that foreign adversaries, including Russia and China, have recently instructed their intelligence services to intensify efforts to recruit US federal employees working in national security. The primary focus is on those who have been dismissed or feel they may soon be fired.
According to CNN, intelligence reports indicate that foreign adversaries seek to exploit the efforts of US President Donald Trump's administration to carry out mass layoffs of federal employees.
According to two sources, Russia and China are concentrating their efforts on:
- Recently dismissed employees with security clearance
- Employees on probationary periods
- Employees at risk of being fired
- Employees who may have valuable information about US critical infrastructure and vital government bureaucracy
According to the two sources, at least two countries have already created job recruitment websites and have begun aggressively targeting federal employees on LinkedIn.
A partially redacted copy of a document reviewed by CNN, published by the US Navy Criminal Investigative Service, states that the intelligence community has assessed "with high confidence" that foreign adversaries have attempted to recruit federal employees and "capitalize" on Trump administration plans for mass layoffs.
The document also added that foreign intelligence officers have been instructed to seek potential sources on LinkedIn, TikTok, RedNote, and Reddit.
"It doesn’t take a lot of imagination to see that these cast aside federal workers with a wealth of institutional knowledge represent staggeringly attractive targets to the intelligence services of our competitors and adversaries," one of CNN's sources said.
Job cuts in the US
It should be noted that Trump and American billionaire Elon Musk, who currently heads the Department of Government Efficiency, are working to cut government spending within the administration.
In particular, Musk's Department of Government Efficiency has led efforts to eliminate the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the primary mechanism for providing American foreign aid and a critical tool of US "soft power" for gaining influence abroad.
The department has also reduced the US Department of Education’s budget by over $900 million.
Additionally, the Pentagon recently announced a reduction of 5,400 jobs as part of Trump’s initiative to downsize the federal workforce. According to Reuters, the layoffs, set to take place next week, represent a small portion of the 50,000 jobs lost at the US Department of Defense.
It is worth noting that Trump has urged Elon Musk to be "more aggressive" in cutting the federal government workforce.
