When Donald Trump announced this week that Bill Pulte, the highly controversial director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, would serve as the acting director of national intelligence, the president’s move sent shockwaves through political and intelligence circles for the most obvious of reasons.
Pulte has literally no background in intelligence or national security, failing to meet the statutory qualifications for the office, and he’s earned a reputation as a hyperpartisan official who has routinely abused his office to target the White House’s perceived political foes. Complicating matters, MS NOW reported last fall that a federal grand jury investigated whether Pulte illegally shared sensitive information with unauthorized people.
MS NOW’s Chris Hayes added that Pulte’s “utterly insane” appointment only makes sense “if you want to turn the entire U.S. intelligence apparatus into a tool for domestic persecution and domination.”
With this in mind, the president announced during an unrelated White House event on Thursday afternoon that Pulte would fill the role temporarily and would not be formally nominated to succeed Tulsi Gabbard. But that’s not all Trump said.
Asked specifically why he sees Pulte as “the best person for the job,” the president’s answer meandered a bit (he spoke at some length about the potential sale value of Fannie Mae), before getting to the heart of the matter.