White House says some employees were fired by mistake

In the Oval Office, President Donald Trump suggested he will sign an executive order on reciprocal tariffs by Thursday.

"In fact, I may do it today. And if I do it today, I could almost do it right now," he laughed, before saying he does not want to take away from Gabbard's day.

"I may do it later on, or I may do it tomorrow morning. But we'll be signing reciprocal tariffs," he promised.

"The world has taken advantage of the United States for many years. They've charged massive tariffs, and we haven't charged them," he said, touting his steel and aluminum tariffs that he said will "level the playing field."

Following her confirmation by the Senate, Tulsi Gabbard was sworn in as director of national intelligence in the Oval Office Wednesday evening.

She and her husband, Abraham Williams, were spotted hugging prior to her being sworn in.

"There's nobody like her for this job. This was a very easy one for me," Trump said regarding his pick.

After expressing her gratitude to the president, Gabbard said she looks forward to working to "refocus our intelligence community by empowering the great patriots who have chosen to serve our country in this way and focus on ensuring the safety, security and freedom of the American people."

In the Oval Office, Trump told reporters that he and Putin may meet in "probably" Saudi Arabia. Though the date has not been set, Trump said it will happen soon.

He added that their conversation was a "good call" that lasted "over an hour."

Trump added he will "think about" going to Ukraine and that his call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was "very good."

The State Department has begun instructing U.S. embassies to start planning for staff reductions, sources told ABC News.

Embassies will be required to cut U.S. staff and local staff, according to the sources. Senior embassy officials have also been asked to provide comprehensive lists of all employees and their employment status as part of the process, including tenured, untenured and temporary duty assignments.

This comes as President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order aimed at ensuring all State Department staffers comply with his administration's foreign policy goals, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.

-ABC News' Will Steakin, Shannon Kingston and Katherine Faulders