Trump green lights new DNI Pulte to 'start the process' on mass intelligence firings
Trump Taps Bill Pulte to Lead Intelligence Community, Tasks Him With Workforce Cuts
President Donald Trump has appointed Bill Pulte, currently the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, as acting Director of National Intelligence, charging him with a mandate to reduce the size of the nation's intelligence apparatus.
Pulte will assume the interim role on June 30, when the resignation of current DNI Tulsi Gabbard becomes official. Gabbard stepped down in May following her husband's diagnosis with a rare form of cancer.
In an interview published Friday in the Wall Street Journal, Trump said he wants Pulte to begin dismissing personnel at the 18 agencies under the DNI's purview. "I'd like to see it smaller," Trump said. "I think there are a lot of people in there that shouldn't be there."
The president framed Pulte's temporary status as an asset rather than a limitation. Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Trump suggested Pulte could accomplish difficult restructuring work that a permanent appointee might find politically untenable. "It might be good for him to shake it up before people come," Trump said. "Because, if he reduced the size, in conjunction with me... and in conjunction with possibly the person coming in... he can do a lot of the hard work and we wouldn't have to saddle somebody that goes in."
Trump also explained that Pulte's status as an outsider to the intelligence community was a deliberate choice. "You're less shackled," Trump told the outlet. "It sort of gives you more power, you know, for a somewhat limited period of time."
The appointment has drawn criticism from some Republican lawmakers. Former Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota publicly opposed the selection, saying the intelligence community needs experienced professionals rather than political appointees. "We don't need a weaponized DNI," Thune said. "We need professionals there."
The leadership transition is already affecting legislative negotiations. After six Senate Republicans joined Democrats to block a bill reauthorizing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Vice Chairman Mark Warner of Virginia warned that Democratic support for the measure would remain elusive as long as Pulte oversees the intelligence community. "I don't see how you get the necessary Democrat votes... that would get them to 60," Warner said.
Trump indicated that an active search for a permanent DNI replacement is underway, though he has not specified a timeline for selecting a candidate who would require Senate confirmation.