Trump taps housing regulator Bill Pulte as acting intelligence chief

President Donald Trump has appointed Bill Pulte, the 38-year-old director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), as acting director of national intelligence (DNI). Pulte replaces Tulsi Gabbard, who stepped down last month citing her husband’s cancer diagnosis. The appointment places a close political ally with no known intelligence experience at the helm of the U.S. intelligence community, which oversees 18 agencies including the CIA, NSA, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Notably, Pulte will retain his existing role as head of the FHFA, where he regulates government-backed mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, managing over $10 trillion in assets.

The move is likely to draw intense scrutiny given Pulte’s background in housing finance rather than national security. However, Pulte has increasingly framed parts of his work at the FHFA through a national security lens, including investigations he claimed involved alleged Chinese and North Korean operatives. In a social media post announcing the appointment, Trump praised Pulte’s management of the mortgage market, stating he has “deep experience managing the most sensitive matters in America.” Critics argue that placing a partisan loyalist without intelligence experience in such a critical role risks politicizing threat assessments on China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea.