Trump Installs Pulte as Appearing Intel Chief, Democrats Warn of ‘Terrorist Danger’
President Trump has named Bill Pulte as the acting director of national intelligence, effective Friday, replacing Tulsi Gabbard who is stepping down from the post.
Pulte currently serves as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. He has no prior background in intelligence or national security.
Senate Democrats moved quickly to condemn the appointment. Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA), a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, called Pulte “a thug and a hack” during an interview Wednesday on MS NOW.
“The installation of a thug and a hack like Pulte as the acting director of national intelligence is maybe the most chilling and the most dangerous nomination or appointment that this president has made,” Ossoff said. “He is putting the national security of the country at risk, and making a terrorist attack more likely because he is destabilizing America’s intelligence capabilities.”
The move comes amid a broader shakeup at the agency. Trump separately nominated Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, to serve as the permanent DNI. But Trump then directed Clayton not to appear at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing set for Wednesday afternoon.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that Clayton’s confirmation process would resume after Congress passes legislation combining a voter ID bill with an extension of the federal government’s warrantless surveillance authority over foreign nationals.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), the committee’s chairman, called the delay “regrettable.”
“Mr. Clayton is a patriot and a highly qualified nominee, as the president has said repeatedly,” Cotton wrote on X. “While today’s hearing is now unfortunately postponed, I look forward to proceeding with his confirmation in the near future.”
Pulte’s tenure at FHFA drew scrutiny for its use of the agency’s investigative powers. He pushed probes into mortgage fraud allegations targeting several of Trump’s perceived political opponents, including New York Attorney General Letitia James and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA).