Bill Pulte, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the US intelligence community as acting director of national intelligence, reportedly did not have a security clearance before the announcement. The office expected to oversee the role initiated a background in
Bill Pulte was announced as acting director of national intelligence, and then—almost immediately—the questions started circling back to one basic requirement: whether he had ever been cleared to see classified information.
Before he was tapped for the role. Pulte did not have a security clearance granting him access to highly classified information. three sources familiar with the matter said. That matters because the director of national intelligence has access to “all of our most classified intelligence,” Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the intelligence committee, said.
The security clearance process was not something that had already been quietly checked off. On Thursday. days after Trump’s announcement that Pulte would serve as acting DNI. the office he is expected to lead—at least temporarily—initiated the vetting process for his security clearance by requesting a background investigation. one of the sources told CNN.
Lawmakers say the timing and the lack of prior clearance raise the stakes. Warner said there is no evidence that Pulte “would respect those classifications.” Other sources told CNN there is no evidence that Pulte previously maintained even the lowest form of security clearance before he was tapped.
Clearances come in different levels, ranging from confidential to Top Secret. The most sensitive materials are classified beyond Top Secret through compartmentalized access programs. which typically require a strict “need-to-know” standard and additional background screenings. In that context. sources said Pulte had not been previously vetted for potential security vulnerabilities—an additional process typically required to obtain a higher-level security clearance and. critically. for those serving in senior intelligence community roles like acting DNI.
One source said, “None,” when asked whether Pulte had gone through any vetting for a security clearance prior to Trump’s announcement—adding that Thursday’s request for a background investigation was the first step.
It also isn’t clear whether Pulte has agreed to take a polygraph test. A polygraph is described as a stringent requirement for access to the US intelligence community’s classified network. though multiple sources previously told CNN that it is not always mandatory for high-ranking. presidential appointees picked to lead those agencies.
Still. Trump is widely expected to grant Pulte access to classified information before he formally steps into the acting DNI role next month. the sources said. That expectation carries its own anxiety for lawmakers: it suggests a pathway that could allow him to bypass parts of the vetting requirements at least in the short term.
Trump dismissed the lack of national security experience when asked about whether Pulte was the right person for the job on Thursday. “I wasn’t greatly experienced in national security. and I think I’ve done a really great job with it. ” Trump told reporters. “He’s very smart. He’s a person who’s got high integrity. He’s done a phenomenal job … He may find out some things about the rigged elections.”.
Trump also emphasized that Pulte would only be in the role temporarily. “It’s an acting position, it’s not a permanent – he’s not going to be permanent.” An administration official said Pulte won’t start until next month when Tulsi Gabbard formally leaves the role.
Even so. it is not clear what—if any—experience Pulte has dealing with classified information or engaging with the intelligence community to date. Officials who have never had access to classified information before typically would not be granted an interim clearance without at least a review of a government form documenting personal information and some other basic information. a source familiar with the process previously told CNN.
When CNN called a phone number associated with Pulte, someone hung up, and the person did not respond to a text message requesting comment. The Federal Housing Finance Agency did not provide CNN with comment despite multiple requests. CNN asked the White House and ODNI for comment.
The concerns don’t stop at paperwork. Critics argue the appointment itself is unusual for a role designed to prevent precisely the kind of intelligence breakdown that can happen when agencies don’t share information with each other. The role, created after 9/11, oversees the 18 agencies that make up the intelligence community.
Pulte’s background also troubles people inside the national security world. From his office at the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Pulte played an extraordinary role pushing the Justice Department to pursue some of its most eye-popping cases against the president’s personal foes. multiple sources familiar with the decision told CNN. Those same sources said the rationale for the pick was simple: Trump liked what he saw from Pulte and believed he could potentially replicate it at DNI.
That logic has met immediate resistance on Capitol Hill.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said, “We don’t need a weaponized DNI. We need professionals there,” adding, “I’ve just heard about it. I’ll try and get more information about the current state of their thinking about that position.” Warner said. “We have no idea whether [Pulte] even has a security clearance.” Even so. the Senate Intelligence Committee has been attempting to find out what kind of security clearance. if any. Pulte has. but it has not been successful. one source told CNN.
At a Senate hearing on Wednesday, Warner asked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent if Pulte had a security clearance, and Bessent said he didn’t know.
All three sources said there is no evidence Pulte currently has a security clearance or previously had access to classified information. But they also acknowledged it is possible he may have been granted one without going through expedited vetting.
Trump has long complained about the clearance process. During his first term. he ordered clearances for more than two dozen people. including Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump. according to congressional testimony. At the beginning of his second term. Trump granted temporary. six-month security clearances to incoming White House officials who had not completed the typical vetting process. blaming a backlog of background checks that he helped cause.
He also issued an executive order that immediately gave high-level clearances called TS/SCI to incoming officials. including some who have never been vetted for potential security vulnerabilities. CNN previously reported. National security lawyers inside and outside the government said at the time it was unusual, if not unprecedented. A former US official who worked on clearance issues in the Biden and first Trump administrations raised another worry: foreign intelligence partners. on which the US relies for much of its intelligence work. might curtail what they share with the US if they fear their sources may be put in danger. “They will start restricting their intelligence,” the official said. “If someone on the other end here has not been vetted, why would they share that?”.
Beth Sanner. a former senior intelligence official. said she didn’t expect Pulte’s appointment to improve intelligence sharing between agencies. “To me, Pulte is a divisive figure. CIA might not want to share information with somebody that has no background [in intelligence]. ” Sanner told CNN’s Brianna Keilar.
For people who track clearances and the trust they create, the question now is stark: whether a role built to coordinate the country’s most guarded information can be filled while key vetting steps remain unsettled.
One former official’s concern from past clearance decisions echoes the current moment—trust is not just granted by paperwork. but by whether partners believe the system protects them. And in Pulte’s case. the first step of that vetting process was only requested on Thursday. after he had already been named to lead the intelligence community’s top office at the start of a critical transition.
Bill Pulte acting director of national intelligence DNI security clearance TS/SCI polygraph Mark Warner John Thune Tulsi Gabbard Scott Bessent ODNI