Pulte appointment as spy chief would give a Trump attack dog access to the 'crown jewels' of intelligence
Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, speaks to the press at the White House, July 24, 2025. President Donald Trump's appointment of
Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, speaks to the press at the White House, July 24, 2025. President Donald Trump's appointment of Bill Pulte to be the acting director of national intelligence will give the president's housing agency attack dog access to the country's most prized secrets, a move that analysts fear could further politicize the office and erode U.S. intelligence-gathering. Trump tapped the Federal Housing Finance Agency director, who oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, on Tuesday to replace the outgoing director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard. Pulte is not experienced in national intelligence and was an investor and executive of the homebuilding company PulteGroup before joining the government.
As director of national intelligence, Pulte will be at the top of the U.S.' sprawling intelligence community and have access to the country's most sensitive national secrets. That lack of experience and Pulte's penchant for using information from the housing agencies to gin up prosecutions of Trump's political rivals has alarmed intelligence analysts and federal lawmakers alike, who warn that Pulte could weaponize the office against the president's domestic political rivals and erode trust in U.S. intelligence. "It's the latest example of some of the amateurish, absurd assignments that Trump has made in the second term," said Brett Bruen, a former diplomat and Security Council official under the Obama administration who now runs the firm Global Situation Room.
"It opens up the very real possibility we could see our intelligence structures and systems further eroded, and the role of intelligence used in more inappropriate and even illegal ways." Bruen said the move will elevate Pulte from receiving "cafeteria-type sensitive information to the crown jewels of our most protected secrets." That includes access to highly sensitive intelligence collection efforts and information about human intelligence sources and surveillance tools. The White House, when asked about concerns about Pulte's qualifications and whether he might weaponize the U.S. intelligence community, defended Trump's choice. "The President chooses the best and most talented people to serve in his Cabinet," White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said by email.
"That is why this Administration has achieved record successes for the American people. Bill Pulte is a great selection and he will do a great job on behalf of the American people." In his role at the housing agency, Pulte used his access to mortgage records to refer some top Trump opponents for prosecution. The Justice Department charged New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat who previously prosecuted Trump, with bank fraud, a charge that was subsequently dismissed. Pulte's criminal referral of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook on similar allegations prompted Trump to attempt to fire her, a case that is still pending before the Supreme Court.
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