Trump appoints Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence

Summary

Bill Pulte, the housing investor and social media personality whom President Trump named as Federal Housing Finance Agency director earlier this year, is now Trump's pick to lead the entire U.S. Intelligence community as acting director of national intelligence, replacing Tulsi Gabbard. The appointment immediately drew scrutiny because the law governing the DNI position requires the officeholder to have, in the statute's own words, 'extensive national security expertise,' a credential Pulte's critics say he plainly lacks. Gabbard, whatever her controversies, was a former congresswoman and combat veteran; Pulte's background is in philanthropic giveaways on X and running a private equity firm. Then came the stranger detail: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters he had warned Pulte back in summer 2025 that he was 'going to kick his ass,' a remark that surfaced this week alongside the appointment and that offered a glimpse of the friction inside a cabinet that publicly presents itself as unified. Bessent has not elaborated on the context of the threat. Pulte's elevation puts him atop an apparatus that oversees 18 intelligence agencies, coordinates presidential daily briefings, and sits at the center of every major national security decision the executive branch makes.