FBI counterintelligence teams across the country are facing substantial staffing shortages, with many field-office squads operating at only 50% to 60% of their authorized strength, according to five people familiar with the bureau’s operations. In several offices, the number of squads assigned to counterintelligence work has been cut in half. The reductions are not the result of a specific order to dismantle those units, the people said. Instead, agents and analysts have been redirected to violent crime, gangs and immigration enforcement—priorities emphasized by President Donald Trump and FBI Director Kash Patel. The staffing changes come as U.S. officials identify China, Russia and Iran as active intelligence threats. Counterintelligence investigations can involve government secrets, research and technology, suspected foreign agents, and efforts by foreign governments to intimidate people in the United States. An FBI spokesperson rejected the claim that the bureau’s counterintelligence capacity has been reduced, saying it maintains a “robust counterintelligence operation.” The bureau said its counterintelligence task forces now include more than 1,500 personnel from the FBI and partner agencies, as well as state and local law enforcement. It also cited security operations at major events, including the country’s 250th anniversary celebrations and the FIFA World Cup. Patel told Congress that the FBI under his leadership has arrested more spies from Russia, China, Iran and North Korea than any previous bureau. That claim could not be independently verified. Former intelligence officials caution that arrests alone do not capture the results of counterintelligence work, which may involve quietly dismantling a network or preventing the loss of information without a public prosecution. The shortfalls are also tied to a bureau-wide personnel drain and a push to move analysts from FBI headquarters in Washington into field offices. Some analysts who had worked on counterintelligence were reassigned to violent crime and gang investigations, making it harder to open new espionage cases and assess evidence in ongoing ones, the people familiar with the matter said. The FBI has lost more than 1,500 special agents since Trump returned to office, according to two people familiar with the numbers, and had more than 650 fewer agents than in January 2025. Departures and dismissals have included personnel who worked on Iranian threats. Former officials say experience matters in cases that can take years to build and require sustained surveillance and source development. Emily Harding, a former CIA analyst and deputy director of the Senate Intelligence Committee who now works at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said success may mean exposing an intelligence network or expelling someone from the country—not necessarily making an arrest. She warned that if counterintelligence networks are not disrupted, the consequences can include stolen classified information, technology and intellectual property. The bureau continues to pursue espionage cases. Recent examples include a former Defense Intelligence Agency computer specialist who pleaded guilty in August to attempting to provide classified information to a foreign power, and charges filed last month against five suspected Russian intelligence operatives accused of planning attacks in Europe and the United States. But former officials say missed counterintelligence activity can remain hidden, making the effects of reduced staffing difficult to measure until secrets or technology have already been taken.