Roger Stone Backed Bill Pulte for Acting DNI

President Donald Trump named Bill Pulte as acting Director of National Intelligence after Tulsi Gabbard resigned, and a new report says multiple MAGA allies—including Roger Stone—pushed for the appointment. The push was tied to hopes Pulte would use his author

On a Tuesday morning, President Donald Trump’s pick for acting Director of National Intelligence landed like a curveball: Bill Pulte, a housing finance official with no intelligence background, chosen in the wake of Tulsi Gabbard’s resignation.

Trump announced he had chosen Pulte to serve as acting DNI “in the wake of Tulsi Gabbard’s resignation.” Pulte also serves as Trump’s head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, where he has been described as a notably top proponent of the controversial 50-year mortgage.

The reaction was swift and broad. The appointment was almost universally panned across the political spectrum, with critics pointing to the same glaring issue: Pulte has never worked in intelligence or national security before.

But the controversy deepened when a Tuesday report said the decision had help from longtime Trump allies. The report says Roger Stone, along with other MAGA figures, pushed for Pulte. Their goal, the report added, was to position Pulte to use the declassification power of the intelligence community.

The report also framed the relationship between Pulte and Gabbard as part of the rationale. It said Pulte is close with departing DNI Tulsi Gabbard—even though he is far from a natural choice for the role because he has not worked in intelligence. It described Stone and other Trump allies as believing Pulte’s “attack-dog mentality” would be critical for an effort to push through declassification and document releases.

“He’s like a bulldozer,” one source familiar with the situation told Semafor of Pulte. “Bulldoze the bureaucracy and accelerate document releases and declassifications.”

At the time of writing, it was not known what kinds of documents the allies wanted Pulte to go after. Semafor reported, however, that they were interested in anything related to Trump’s continued claims that the 2020 election was stolen.

The tension in the appointment is now plain: a role built around intelligence and national security is being handed to an outsider by political allies who want faster, more aggressive access to classified information—without clarity yet on exactly where that push would land.

Bill Pulte acting DNI Tulsi Gabbard Roger Stone Federal Housing Finance Agency 50-year mortgage declassification classified documents 2020 election stolen claims Semafor