Pulte appointment as spy chief would give Trump attack dog access to the 'crown jewels'

William J. Pulte, Director of US Federal Housing FHFA, speaks to the press at The White House on Thursday, July 24, 2025. Sarah L. Voisin | The Washington Post | Getty Images President Donald Trump 's appointment of Bill Pulte to be the acting director of national intelligence will place the president's housing agency attack dog in possession of the country's most prized secrets, a move that analysts fear could further politicize the office and erode U.S. intelligence gathering. Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, who oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, was tapped by Trump on Tuesday morning to replace the outgoing DNI Tulsi Gabbard . Pulte is not experienced in national intelligence and was an investor and executive of the home building firm PulteGroup before serving in government. As DNI, Pulte will be placed at the top of the U.S.' sprawling intelligence community and have access to the country's most sensitive national secrets. That lack of experience and Pulte's penchant for using information from the housing agencies to gin up prosecutions of Trump's political rivals has alarmed intelligence analysts and federal lawmakers alike, who warn Pulte could weaponize the office against the president's domestic political rivals and erode trust in U.S. intelligence. …