GOP Sen. Tillis slams Trump intelligence pick Pulte: 'Don't think he has a prayer'

Key points

• Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) questions Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent during a Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs hearing in Washington, DC on February 5, 2026. "I don't think he has a prayer" of making it through the Senate and becoming the permanent DNI, Tillis said of Pulte.
• The remarks on CNBC's " Squawk Box " from the retiring North Carolina senator added to the growing backlash against Bill Pulte, the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, whom Trump appointed acting director of national intelligence on Tuesday on top of his housing role.
• Thom Tillis on Wednesday blasted President Donald Trump 's pick to lead the U.S. intelligence community as an "incendiary attack dog " who has no path to being confirmed by the Senate.
• Tillis joins a parade of lawmakers, Republicans and Democrats, recoiling from Pulte's appointment.
• Pulte, who has no known prior experience...