President Donald Trump said Tuesday he is appointing Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte to serve as acting director of national intelligence, replacing Tulsi Gabbard after she steps down June 30.
The move would put Pulte, a housing finance official with no known intelligence background, in charge of the U.S. intelligence community, including agencies such as the CIA and National Security Agency. Trump said Pulte will remain FHFA director and chairman of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac while serving in the intelligence role.
The appointment immediately drew scrutiny because Pulte has become a prominent administration figure in mortgage-related allegations against several of Trump’s political opponents. It also raised a procedural question: Trump had previously said Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence Aaron Lukas would become acting DNI after Gabbard’s departure, and CNBC reported the White House did not immediately clarify when Pulte’s tenure would begin or whether Lukas would remain in his current role.
A housing regulator tapped for an intelligence job
The director of national intelligence post was created after the Sept. 11 attacks to improve coordination across U.S. intelligence agencies. If Pulte is later nominated for the job permanently, he would need Senate confirmation. CBS News reported that acting officials may serve for 210 days from the start of a vacancy, a timeline that would allow Pulte to serve until Jan. 26, 2027, if the vacancy begins when Gabbard leaves office.
Trump praised Pulte’s work overseeing mortgage finance, writing on Truth Social that he has experience managing sensitive matters involving market safety and soundness and more than $10 trillion at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Pulte was confirmed in March 2025 to lead the FHFA in a 56-43 Senate vote, with three Democrats supporting him, according to CBS News.
Gabbard announced in May that she would resign effective June 30, citing her husband’s diagnosis with a rare form of bone cancer. During her tenure, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence underwent a major restructuring, including staff reductions or reassignments and office consolidations under an initiative called ODNI 2.0, CBS News reported.
Political backlash and unresolved questions
Democrats criticized Pulte’s selection, pointing to his role in criminal referrals and public allegations involving mortgage fraud. CNBC reported that Pulte filed a criminal referral against Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, alleging she improperly claimed two properties as her primary residence. Trump later attempted to fire Cook based on those allegations; Cook has denied wrongdoing, and the case is pending before the Supreme Court.
Pulte also submitted a criminal referral involving New York Attorney General Letitia James. CBS News reported that referrals or allegations also involved Sen. Adam Schiff, former Rep. Eric Swalwell and others; all four figures named by CBS denied wrongdoing. James was charged in October with bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution, but the case was later dismissed after a federal judge found the interim U.S. attorney who brought the indictment was invalidly appointed.
Democrats on Capitol Hill asked the Government Accountability Office to review whether Pulte potentially misused federal authority and resources in publicly accusing prominent Democrats and Trump’s perceived political enemies of mortgage fraud. CBS News reported that the GAO confirmed in December it was investigating but had not released findings.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., also expressed concern. “We don’t need a weaponized DNI, we need professionals there,” Thune told reporters, according to CNBC. Thune said he was seeking more information from the administration about its plans for the position.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called Pulte a partisan figure with no intelligence experience, while Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the selection raised concerns about whether intelligence would be shaped to fit the White House’s preferences. White House spokesman Davis Ingle defended the choice, saying Trump selects highly qualified people for his Cabinet and that Pulte would do a strong job for the public.
For now, the appointment leaves two central questions unresolved: when Pulte will formally take over from Gabbard, and whether Trump plans to nominate him or someone else for the permanent intelligence post.
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