Trump names FHFA’s Bill Pulte for acting DNI in latest radical personnel move
When Donald Trump nominated former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard to serve as the director of national intelligence, there were a variety of obvious problems, including the inconvenient fact that she was spectacularly unqualified. During her confirmation hearings, however, the former Hawaii representative was at least able to point to some handling of intelligence during her military service.
This satisfied Senate Republicans who confirmed her to the role, though Gabbard announced her resignation two weeks ago.
There’s been some speculation about her possible successor, and while the president hasn’t formally announced his new nominee, on Tuesday morning he published a statement on his social media platform alerting the public to his acting DNI choice. The missive read in its entirety:
I am appointing the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and Chairman of Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, William J. Pulte, to serve as Acting Director of National Intelligence. 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. During this period, he will remain Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and Chairman of Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac. Congratulations to Director Pulte!
When identifying the single most outlandish personnel move of Trump’s second term, the competition is admittedly fierce, though this has to be near the top of the list.
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Steve Benen is a producer for “The Rachel Maddow Show,” the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He’s also the bestselling author of “Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans’ War on the Recent Past.”
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