Donald Trump is putting an unqualified loyalist in charge of US spy agencies. On Tuesday, Trump announced in a social media post that he was appointing Bill Pulte, who is already director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, as acting director of national intelligence. Pulte will replace former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard in the role after Gabbard announced her resignation last month, citing her husband's cancer diagnosis. Gabbard has a few weeks left on the job, though: Her resignation will take effect June 30.
What does the DNI do?
As acting director of national intelligence, Pulte's job is to oversee and coordinate the 18 agencies that make up the US intelligence community, including the CIA, the FBI, and the National Security Agency. It is a powerful role, though one that has been sidelined for much of the second Trump administration because of Gabbard's conflicts with the White House.
What is the context?
As my colleague Andrew Prokop reported last year, Pulte has spent his time in government to date freelancing as Trump's attack dog, including digging up flimsy accusations of mortgage fraud against Fed governor Lisa Cook, Sen. Adam Schiff, and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Only one of those resulted in an indictment, which has since been dismissed. He also pushed Trump to fire former Fed chair Jay Powell.
Why does this matter?
Gabbard's tenure as DNI was by turns bizarre, alarming, and ineffectual, but it could well pale in comparison to what Pulte might do with the role. Pulte has no background in national security or intelligence, so his sole qualification for the DNI job is seemingly his relentless, bottomless loyalty to Trump. As FHFA director, that looked like trumped-up schemes to indict Trump's enemies; at the head of the intelligence community, with power over domestic and foreign intelligence collection, it could be a far more serious threat.
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