Bill Pulte might not have any experience in intelligence. But on Tuesday, President Trump named Pulte, currently the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, to replace Tulsi Gabbard as acting director of national intelligence.
The job oversees 18 intelligence agencies and is one of the most sensitive in the federal government. So how did a guy like Pulte land the job? By going after Trump's enemies with a doggedness to rival some of the president's biggest sycophants, of course. As my colleagues Dan Friedman and Hannah Levintova put it, "Pulte may not know anything about overseeing the CIA, but he seems well equipped to carry on the mission of using the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to target Trump’s critics. That’s clearly the job the president has in mind."
Both Dan and Hannah have written a ton on Pulte over the past year. Here are some of the sketchier parts of his background:
Pulte’s experience at the FHFA, and in prior work, has raised serious questions about his own conduct. The Government Accountability Office—an investigative arm of Congress—is probing whether Pulte misused federal resources to launch politicized attacks. And even as he has pursued Trump critics for what in many cases appear to be paperwork mistakes, Pulte has substantial baggage of his own.
Pulte, a third-generation heir to real estate fortune, in 2023 gave $65,000 through a foundation he controlled to a supposed charity to support the poor, called One World Love. We found no indication 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 his effort to avoid paying damages after the January 6 attack. Pulte and Binnall have not responded to questions about the transaction.
So there you have it. A diehard Trump loyalist with plenty of experience in shady conduct and zero in national security or intelligence is about to run the stuff for us.
—Inae Oh
