Trump Names Bill Pulte Acting DNI, Orders Cuts at Post-9/11 Intelligence Office

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jun 8

Bill Pulte, the FHFA director with no intelligence background, was tapped as acting director of national intelligence as Tulsi Gabbard prepares to leave on June 30.
Trump told The Wall Street Journal he wants Pulte to start shrinking ODNI, calling the post-9/11 agency unnecessary or too big and saying there are people there who should not be.
Tom Cotton backed downsizing or even eliminating the office, while White House allies said Pulte's value is management discipline and loyalty to Trump's declassification and anti-bureaucracy agenda.
Mitch McConnell, Mark Warner and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick said Pulte lacks the extensive national security experience required for a permanent DNI, underscoring the importance of his acting status.
The move follows Trump's public break with Gabbard over her assessment that Iran was not building a nuclear weapon, a dispute that exposed wider tensions over intelligence independence.