Trump names FHFA chief Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he is appointing Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte to serve as acting director of national intelligence, an unusual move that would put a housing-finance regulator with no public national-security background atop the U.S. intelligence community.

The selection is notable because the director of national intelligence is the senior official charged with coordinating America’s 18 intelligence agencies, a post created after the Sept. 11 attacks to improve information-sharing and oversight across the government. Pulte, by contrast, is a Senate-confirmed housing regulator whose agency oversees mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Trump announced the move June 2 in a post on Truth Social, saying Pulte would keep his current jobs while also taking on the intelligence role. “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,” Trump wrote. “During this period, he will remain Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and Chairman of Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac. Congratulations to Director Pulte!”

Pulte was confirmed by the Senate in March 2025 on a 56-43 vote to lead the FHFA, the federal regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Multiple news organizations, including The Associated Press and Reuters, reported that he has no prior public intelligence or national-security experience and is best known as a real estate and housing-finance executive aligned with Trump.

The announcement came after current Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said May 22 that she would resign effective June 30. In a resignation letter quoted by The Washington Post, Gabbard wrote: “Unfortunately, I must submit my resignation, effective June 30, 2026. My husband, Abraham, has recently been diagnosed with an extremely rare form of bone cancer. At this time, I must step away from public service to be by his side and fully support him through this battle.”

Because Gabbard’s resignation does not take effect until the end of the month, public reporting did not make clear Tuesday when Pulte’s acting service would begin or how the transition would be implemented.

The move is also likely to draw scrutiny on two fronts. The law creating the modern DNI role says a person nominated for the job “shall have extensive national security expertise,” language critics quickly pointed to because Pulte lacks that background. Separately, legal analysts have long debated whether the statute governing vacancies at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence requires the principal deputy DNI to serve in an acting capacity during a vacancy, rather than another person chosen by the president.

Critics said the selection risks politicizing intelligence and sidelining the expertise typically associated with one of the government’s top national-security positions. Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said: “The concern is not only that Mr. Pulte lacks the ‘extensive national security experience’ required by statute… It is that he appears to have been selected precisely because the White House believes he will provide the narrative it wants, not the intelligence we need.”

Pulte’s tenure at FHFA has already drawn scrutiny over the agency’s criminal referrals involving public figures, according to the AP, adding to concerns from critics about politicization.

For now, the central unanswered question is not just why Trump chose a housing-finance regulator for the intelligence post, but how the administration intends to put the acting designation into effect once Gabbard’s resignation takes hold.