Trump says he wants Pulte to “start the process” of shrinking intel office
Trump says Bill Pulte will not be permanent director of national intelligence 03:39
Washington – President Trump said Friday: Wall Street Magazine You want Bill Pulte, controversial election Managing the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, “beginning the process” of eliminating some workers and downsizing the office.
Mr. Trump told the Journal that the ODNI, which oversees the nation’s 18 intelligence agencies, was “redundant” or “too large” and bemoaned holdovers from previous administrations. The president said the ODNI “maybe should be terminated.”
“I would like to see it smaller. I think there are a lot of people who shouldn’t be there,” the president said. When asked whether he was calling on Pulte to fire ODNI employees, Mr. Trump said he wanted Pulte to “start the process,” which could be continued as follows: permanent director.
“We made the Department of Education much smaller, and this should be much smaller as well,” the president told the newspaper. “And maybe this should stop, and we will make that decision.”
Later on Air Force One Friday, the president did not publicly confirm that Pulte would cut the agency but said “I wouldn’t mind it” and said the workforce at ODNI was “too high.”
Pulte will be able to serve for 210 days from the date he takes office as acting director. He also continues to run the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
“You’re less shackled,” the president told the Journal, referring to Pulte working in an acting role. “It kind of gives you more power for a limited time, you know.”
“Frankly, it might be good for him to stir this up before people arrive,” Mr. Trump added.
Gabbard has already reduced agency staff by about 50% as part of an effort called “ODNI 2.0,” saving taxpayers about $1 billion, an ODNI official said. Gabbard has long said she is willing to become the last director of national intelligence if the ODNI is determined to be unnecessary, the official said.
“We look forward to working with Mr. Pulte and President Trump on additional initiatives to increase savings and eliminate deep state bad actors,” the ODNI official said.
The president told reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday that he is interviewing five people for permanent duty at the ODNI.
On Thursday, Mr. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that Pulte could look into “rigged elections,” an apparent reference to the 2020 presidential election. As FHFA director, Pulte launched mortgage fraud investigations of Trump’s enemies despite GOP concerns and showed he is not shy of political controversy.
“He’s a very smart guy and could learn some things about rigged elections and so on,” the president said. “I think he’d like to do it. I would – I think he’d really like to do it. He’s got a lot of energy. But it’ll be great.”
The president was asked Thursday whether Pulte would be suitable for an intelligence role, given his lack of known national security experience. Mr. Trump suggested Pulte was “smart” and would take over the business quickly.
“Actually, I think he is, because he is smart,” Mr. Trump responded. “Look, I wasn’t very experienced in national security, and I think I did a really great job at that, a lot of people would say that.”
The president’s choice of Pulte was not well received on Capitol Hill, where senators attended Friday. couldn’t pass Reauthorization of a major surveillance program under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Some lawmakers have said they would not support an extension for Pulte to oversee the country’s intelligence agencies.
