President Donald Trump has tapped Bill Pulte to replace the outgoing Tulsi Gabbard as new director of national intelligence, even though he lacks any background in the intelligence field.
The president made the announcement Tuesday morning on Truth Social, saying Pulte, 38, “has deep experience managing the most sensitive matters in America, the safety and soundness of the Markets, and over 10 Trillion Dollars at Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, a substantial increase from where it was just 12 months ago.”
Pule, who is currently the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and chair of Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, will remain in those roles while being the new DNI, according to Trump.
The announcement concludes speculation as to who would replace Gabbard, a somewhat contentious figure in the Trump administration due to her past politics—she served as a Democratic member of Congress from Hawaii for years, plus ran for president in 2020 as a Democrat—and her views regarding U.S. military intervention and so-called unjust wars.
Gabbard issued her resignation on May 23, citing the illness of her husband, Abraham Williams, who has been diagnosed with “an extremely rare form of bone cancer.” Gabbard stated that he would face “major challenges in the coming weeks and months.”
She will remain in her current role until June 30.
Who is Bill Pulte?
Pulte will step into an important role at a time of global uncertainty.
He will oversee the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which has 18 separate intelligence agencies across the federal government under its umbrella. Following U.S. military strikes on purported narco-trafficking vessels in the Caribbean beginning last summer, the U.S. and Israel have been embroiled in a war with Iran since Feb. 28. U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have alluded to a next potential military operation against Cuba.
It remains unclear what intelligence-based qualifications led to Pulte getting the nod to take over for Gabbard, considering he comes from a finance and manufacturing background. He is the grandson of William J. Pulte, the founder of PulteGroup, one of the country’s largest residential construction builders.
He also hasn’t been shy about being an attack dog for Trump on social media, using his FHFA role to jab at political rivals on social media. That perhaps may have vaulted him over other considerations, as the president has always been endeared to loyalty.
Some of those rivals he’s gone after have included those he has sought to criminally punish, such as sending referrals for alleged mortgage fraud to individuals including New York Attorney General Letitia James and Sen. Adam Schiff of California, both Democrats.
Pulte has also gone after Lisa Cook, a member of the Federal Reserve nominated by President Joe Biden and who Trump has openly criticized, as well as ex-Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for not cutting interest rates in the manner and swiftness desired by Trump.
Pulte’s ideas have included the 50-year mortgage and efforts to lower mortgage rates through the purchase of home loan debt that have not paid off as promised, according to the AP.
Reactions from Political Opponents
Pulte has not publicly commented on his new appointment, aside from reposting it on social media.
Democratic lawmakers have wasted no time scrutinizing the selection.
“Bill Pulte is a partisan thug with no experience in intelligence,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) wrote on X. “He is another unqualified Trump appointee that will make our country less safe. And you won’t hear a word from the Republicans who claim to care about national security.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) on X claimed Pulte “has spent the last year at FHFA abusing his authority to attack President Trump’s perceived political enemies, prompting the congressional watchdog to investigate his handling of sensitive financial information.”
“Today, Trump is rewarding his lackey—who has no national security experience—with a perch atop our nation’s intelligence community. What could go wrong?” Warren wrote.
David Axelrod, former senior adviser to President Barack Obama, said on X that Pulte’s new role “has to be a joke.”
“If not, it’s a scandal,” Axelrod said.
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