President Donald Trump announced that he will be appointing Bill Pulte as Acting Director of National Intelligence (DNI).
Pulte, Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and Chairman of the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae)/Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac), will be succeeding Tulsi Gabbard.
“William has deep experience managing the most sensitive matters in America, the safety and soundness of the Markets, and over 10 Trillion Dollars at Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, a substantial increase from where it was just 12 months ago,” President Trump wrote in his announcement post on Truth Social.
President Trump also confirmed that while Pulte serves as DNI, he will remain in his current posts as both FHFA Director and Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac Chair.
Pulte’s appointment comes a week and a half after current DNI Tulsi Gabbard announced her resignation from the post.
Citing her husband’s recent diagnosis of a rare form of bone cancer, Gabbard affirmed that she “must step away from public service to be by his side and fully support him through this battle.”
Following Gabbard’s announcement, President Trump unveiled that Principal Deputy DNI Aaron Lukas would take her place.
Lukas had served in the Intelligence Community for 19 years prior to becoming Principal Deputy DNI during the second Trump administration. Pulte, by contrast, has no prior experience in an intelligence role.
Pulte's Controversial Role As FHFA Director
According to NBC News, since becoming FHFA director, Pulte has targeted Democrats whom President Trump has viewed as his political enemies.
Pulte issued two criminal referrals against New York Attorney General Leticia James on allegations of insurance fraud and sent a criminal referral to the Department of Justice for Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif) on allegations of mortgage fraud.
Pulte was also a driving force behind the controversy surrounding the Federal Reserve headquarters renovation project, which led to Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s probe into alleged fraud.
