President Trump on Tuesday named Bill Pulte, the 38-year-old director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, as acting director of national intelligence, handing oversight of the country's 18 spy agencies to a homebuilding heir with no public record in national security.
The selection, announced on Trump's TRUTH Social account, replaces former DNI Tulsi Gabbard, who resigned last month. Pulte will retain his housing post and his chairmanship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac while running the intelligence community, an arrangement that surprised Republican senators and drew immediate condemnation from Democrats.
Loyalty over resume
Pulte is the heir to the PulteGroup homebuilding fortune and the founder of Pulte Capital Partners, with a reported net worth above $100 million. He sat on the family company's board from 2016 to 2020 and built a public profile as a self-styled Twitter philanthropist, at one point pledging vehicles to veterans in exchange for retweets from Trump.
Federal statute requires that any nominee for director of national intelligence possess extensive national security expertise. Pulte's career has centered on housing finance and real estate investment. Trump, in his announcement, said Pulte has "deep experience managing the most sensitive matters in America, the safety and soundness of the markets and over $10 trillion at Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac."
Republican skepticism
Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters: "We don't need a weaponized DNI. We need professionals there." Thune warned that a formal nomination would face "a lengthy road" through confirmation.
Sen. John Cornyn of Texas was blunter, telling colleagues, "I see no evidence of any qualifications for that job." Sen. Bill Cassidy said Pulte "doesn't appear to be qualified." Sen. Lisa Murkowski said she was "surprised" by the choice and unfamiliar with Pulte's intelligence background. Sen. Susan Collins said she did not know whether Pulte holds a security clearance.
Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chair Mark Warner called the appointment "a terrible choice," arguing it shows the president prizes loyalty over professional intelligence leadership. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer described Pulte as "a partisan thug with no experience in intelligence" who would "make our country less safe."
A record of investigations
At the housing agency, Pulte has used his perch to push fraud referrals against figures Trump considers political adversaries, including Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, New York Attorney General Letitia James and Sen. Adam Schiff. Cook was accused of designating multiple properties as primary residences; James was indicted on a referral from Pulte, but a judge ruled the prosecutor improperly appointed and grand juries twice declined to reindict.
"If it didn't end up on my desk, I wouldn't be doing my job," Pulte said of the referrals. Sen. Thom Tillis called the campaign "a waste of time and money." The New York Times has reported that Pulte's pressure on the Justice Department to bring cases against Trump's opponents has rankled department officials.
Reporting has noted that several Trump Cabinet members and members of Pulte's own family have similarly claimed multiple properties as primary residences. Politico reported that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent threatened to punch Pulte at a private dinner after learning Pulte had criticized him to Trump.
What comes next
As an acting appointee, Pulte can run the office without immediate Senate action, but a permanent nomination would trigger the same confirmation gauntlet Gabbard navigated last year. One Trump ally argued the president weighs personal trust more heavily than predecessors did when filling senior posts.
The White House had not offered further public defense of the selection by press time. For Pulte, the immediate task is taking command of an intelligence apparatus whose senior staff, until Tuesday, had never heard him brief on a national security matter.