WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has tapped Bill Pulte, head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, to be the acting director of national intelligence — elevating a real estate scion without any clear national security credentials to a key post as the U.S. remains at war with Iran.
Trump made the surprise announcement Tuesday on social media that Pulte would be replacing Tulsi Gabbard, the former Hawaii congresswoman who had served as the director of national intelligence. Trump said Pulte will keep his other positions even as he fills in for Gabbard, who resigned last month after revealing her husband’s cancer diagnosis.
The Republican president cited Pulte’s work at the FHFA and his role as chair of the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as indicating that his real estate work would overlap with the skills needed to coordinate 18 federal agencies tasked with aspects of foreign and domestic security.
“William has deep experience managing the most sensitive matters in America, the safety and soundness of the Markets,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
TRUMP’S CHOICE to elevate Pulte, who would also continue in his post at FHFA, shows how the president is putting a greater priority on loyalty to him, even as the side effects of the Iran war has damaged Trump politically going into November’s midterm elections and raised basic concerns about the quality of advice that aides are giving to a president who has rewarded flattery.
It’s unclear what national security expertise Pulte brings to bear as the U.S. faces conflict in the Middle East, helps Ukraine defend itself against Russia’s assault and manages the emergence of artificial intelligence as a military tool. But Pulte, who’s 38 years old, has been a frequent guest on Air Force One as Trump has traveled to Mar-a-Lago, his home and club in Palm Beach, Florida.
On one such flight, the housing finance director stood in a doorway as Trump discussed with reporters the ballroom he’s building at the White House and handed Trump a series of renderings of the project that the president held up.
Questions about Pulte’s experience
Tuesday’s announcement quickly drew criticism from Trump administration opponents that Pulte could undermine the credibility and integrity of America’s intelligence agencies. But even some Republicans were wary about Pulte being the director of national intelligence.
“We don’t need a weaponized DNI. We need professionals there,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota. “I’m trying to get more information about the current state of their thinking about that position. And, again, if he’s somebody they want in that position permanently, he’s got, as you all know, a lengthy road ahead of him.“
Democrats noted that Pulte’s major qualification appeared to be his enthusiasm for fulfilling Trump’s requests.
“The concern is not only that Mr. Pulte lacks the ‘extensive national security experience’ required by statute for the job, which was created after intelligence failures led to the deaths of thousands of Americans on 9/11,” said Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., in a statement. “It is that he appears to have been selected precisely because the White House believes he will provide the narrative it wants, not the intelligence we need.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said Pulte has been “abusing his authority” as the federal housing finance director and Trump is now “rewarding his lackey — who has no national security experience — with a perch atop our nation’s intelligence community. What could go wrong?”
Robert Weissman, co-president of Public Citizen, the liberal consumer rights advocacy group, warned that Pulte was “Trump’s hatchet man” who would use the government against those Americans who object to the president’s actions.
“Placing Pulte in this post would position him to use the nation’s massive surveillance apparatus and police capacity to harass, intimidate and threaten the many, many people that Trump considers his enemies,” Weissman said.
