Donald Trump appoints Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence
Bill Pulte, a housing and mortgage policy official with no intelligence background, was named acting director of national intelligence amid U.S. tensions with Iran.
Donald Trump appointed Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence, replacing Tulsi Gabbard, while the United States was engaged in a war with Iran or facing Iran‑related tensions. Pulte retained his existing roles overseeing federal housing and mortgage policies while serving as acting director, and he has no national security or intelligence experience. Trump said Pulte would not be a permanent director of national intelligence.
Trump postponed the confirmation hearing for Jay Clayton, keeping Pulte in the acting director role.
Al Arabiya reported that Trump said Pulte could declassify records, including those related to the 2020 election.
NPR reported that Pulte’s appointment has disrupted talks to renew the FISA‑702 surveillance authority.
This account was written only from facts that survived Augur's
corroboration pass — 7 corroborated across opposed news blocs,
0 contested (attributed to both sides), 2
single-source (attributed). Nothing was added; no significance was inferred.
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