Trump picks Bill Pulte to lead U.S. intelligence

President Donald Trump named Bill Pulte as acting Director of National Intelligence, replacing Tulsi Gabbard after she left the post last month. The appointment has raised concerns about Pulte’s lack of intelligence experience and questions about his conduct,

When President Donald Trump put Bill Pulte forward as acting Director of National Intelligence Tuesday, the move landed with a jolt precisely because it breaks the usual expectations of the job.

Pulte, who currently heads the Federal Housing Finance Agency, is not known for experience overseeing the nation’s 18 intelligence agencies. Even so. Trump’s decision—effective as Pulte takes over the DNI role from Tulsi Gabbard—carries a logic that is hard to miss: Pulte has spent his time in another arena. the mortgage finance world. helping spark criminal probes tied to Trump’s opponents.

Trump made the announcement Tuesday, saying on his Truth Social platform that “William has deep experience managing the most sensitive matters in America.” He also said Pulte would continue running the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Gabbard. who left the DNI job last month. had been sidelined from intelligence matters as Trump launched attacks related to Venezuela and Iran. But she, too, used the position to pursue Trump’s political grievances. The record described here includes declassifying and misrepresenting documents to promote the claim that former President Barack Obama led a “treasonous conspiracy” against Trump after the 2016 election. It also includes prompting a “questionable” criminal investigation involving national security officials who served during the Obama administration.

Under Gabbard’s tenure, there were also actions far from the usual day-to-day of intelligence management—seizing voting machines in Puerto Rico and showing up in person in Fulton County, Georgia, to watch FBI agents seize 2020 ballots.

Pulte may not know the CIA from the inside, but the description of his recent work suggests he may be comfortable operating in the political ecosystem Trump has leaned into—using the structures of government to press for criminal scrutiny where the administration wants pressure applied.

Working closely with Ed Martin. the former head of the Trump DOJ’s “weaponization” task force. Pulte spurred investigations of Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), former Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), and Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. The account also describes an ill-fated indictment of New York Attorney General Letitia James.

That history helps explain why the appointment is being framed as a continuation of a mission rather than a fresh start—especially as Trump’s allies push forward their preferred view of who should be investigated.

But the questions surrounding Pulte don’t begin with intelligence policy. They extend into the kind of scrutiny that normally comes from a watchdog, not a press cycle.

The Government Accountability Office—described here as an investigative arm of Congress—is probing whether Pulte misused federal resources to launch politicized attacks. That inquiry arrives while Pulte has been associated with investigations aimed at Trump critics over what the account describes as paperwork mistakes.

At the same time, his personal and financial transactions have created their own trail of doubt.

In 2023. Pulte. identified as a third-generation heir to a real estate fortune. gave $65. 000 through a foundation he controlled to a supposed charity to support the poor called One World Love. The reporting says it found no indication that a nonprofit with that name exists. Instead. the funds appear to have gone to a Wyoming LLC tied to the Binnall Law Group. which represented Trump in various matters—including the effort to avoid paying damages after the January 6 attack. Pulte and Binnall have not responded to questions about the transaction.

Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Ma.) questioned Pulte about it in a letter last month, writing that “These facts raise serious concerns that Team Pulte Inc. may have illegally funneled cash out of a charity to support President Trump.”

Another transaction in 2021 is also described. Pulte and his wife. Diana. are said to have used an LLC they controlled in Delaware to funnel a $500. 000 contribution to a pro-Trump PAC. The account notes that an FEC investigation into the gift ended last year without faulting Pulte. A spokesman told Mother Jones that Pulte “was 100 percent compliant” and “anything else is Fake News. an attempt to smear Director Pulte.”.

Beyond politics and finances, Pulte has drawn attention in the digital-asset world. The reporting says he promoted a memecoin created by a social media influencer who the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission later accused of defrauding investors in the coin of at least $114 million through a pump-and-dump scheme. That case is scheduled to go to trial in Texas next year.

There is also a compliance issue tied to securities disclosures. The account says that last year. even as Pulte pushed for criminal investigations based on apparent paperwork errors. he failed to file a required SEC disclosure form. It adds that Pulte filed the form the day after Mother Jones reported the omission.

Taken together. the appointment forces two questions into the same frame: whether the Office of the Director of National Intelligence can be run competently under someone without intelligence management experience. and whether the kind of pressure being directed at political adversaries is compatible with the impartiality the job is supposed to demand.

Trump has made clear he believes Pulte is ready—at least for what Trump wants DNI to do. Pulte, meanwhile, inherits a role that manages 18 intelligence agencies, while the investigations and unanswered questions around his conduct follow him into the most sensitive corner of the federal government.

The next test won’t come from a slogan. It will come from whether the DNI under Pulte becomes a steady command center—or a further instrument in the political fights that have marked both his past and Trump’s governing style.

Donald Trump Bill Pulte acting Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard Federal Housing Finance Agency Government Accountability Office Ed Martin Adam Schiff Eric Swalwell Lisa Cook Letitia James Truth Social Office of the Director of National Intelligence