Bill Pulte assumes role of US acting director of national intelligence | Trump administration
Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte became acting director of national intelligence (DNI) on Friday, following a spat between Donald Trump and Washington lawmakers over the short-term future of the cabinet intelligence post.
Outgoing DNI Tulsi Gabbard had originally planned to leave her post on June 30, but Trump shortened her term to Friday. Senators planned to confirm the president’s DNI nominee, Jay Clayton, by Friday, which would deny him the opportunity to serve as acting director of Pulte. But Trump suddenly On Wednesday, he canceled the Senate confirmation hearing for Clayton and instructed him not to appear before Senate lawmakers.
The delay leaves Pulte in the unusual position of overseeing 18 U.S. spy agencies as well as the country’s federal housing agency.
Pulte has no background in intelligence work, but he has a proven track record of supporting the president’s agenda. Wall StreetJournal reported He said last year that among some in the administration, Pulte had learned the nickname “Little Trump” because of his devotion to the president.
Senate Democrats accused Pulte of directing politically motivated investigations into the White House’s political rivals. Last year, Pulte investigated several Democrats, all prominent Trump opponents, for mortgage fraud. They included Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, New York attorney general Letitia James, former California representative Eric Swalwell and California senator Adam Schiff. The allegations were widely seen as weak.
Individual mortgage information needs to be highly protected, and in December the Government Accountability Office filed a report. investigation It is being investigated whether Pulte improperly accessed the financial information of Trump’s rivals.
“Instead of choosing a respected national security professional capable of making independent decisions, the president has chosen an official who is not only willing but has demonstrated a willingness to use government powers to pursue political revenge,” Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee, said in a statement at the time. “Assigning him to oversee the intelligence community makes clear that this president is not looking for an intelligence leader who will follow the facts or speak truth to power, but rather someone who is willing to shape intelligence to the president’s wishes, regardless of the cost to the American people.”
With Clayton’s candidacy in limbo, Pulte could serve in the role at least long enough to further some of Trump’s long-running election conspiracies. As DNI, Gabbard alarmed many on Capitol Hill when she appeared at an inexplicably FBI raid on a polling facility in Fulton County, Georgia, and authorized the seizure of voting machines in Puerto Rico, which conspirators claimed were rigged by Venezuela’s former president, Nicolás Maduro, and his late predecessor, Hugo Chavez.
It seems Trump has similar wishes for Pulte. “He’s a very smart guy,” Trump said shortly after nominating him, “and you can learn some things about rigged elections and so on.”
