President Trump Appoints Bill Pulte As Acting Director Of National Intelligence After Tulsi Gabbard Exit
President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that Bill Pulte will serve as acting Director of National Intelligence following the resignation of Tulsi Gabbard.
Pulte will continue leading the Federal Housing Finance Agency while simultaneously overseeing the nation’s intelligence community in the temporary role.
Trump praised Pulte’s leadership at the FHFA and highlighted his management of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
“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,” Trump said in a statement.
The president also credited Pulte with helping improve housing market stability during the past year.
Pulte replaces Gabbard, who announced last month that she would resign to help care for her husband following his diagnosis with a rare form of bone cancer. Her departure officially takes effect June 30.
During her 16 months leading the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Gabbard implemented sweeping reforms that dramatically reduced the size of the agency.
Her restructuring effort, dubbed “ODNI 2.0,” reportedly cut staffing by roughly 40% and saved taxpayers an estimated $700 million annually.
Gabbard also oversaw the declassification of hundreds of thousands of pages of intelligence records, including documents related to the Russia investigation and alleged political weaponization within the intelligence community.
Before leaving office, Gabbard is expected to release additional findings tied to Havana Syndrome, COVID-19 investigations, and alleged federal government abuses.
Pulte has become one of President Trump’s most aggressive allies inside the administration since taking over the FHFA in March 2025.
He has repeatedly targeted prominent Democrats through criminal referrals and investigations involving alleged financial misconduct.
Among the most notable cases were referrals involving Letitia James and Adam Schiff.
Pulte referred James for alleged mortgage and banking fraud after she previously pursued civil fraud litigation against President Trump. He also referred Schiff to the DOJ over alleged mortgage-related irregularities.
Outside government, Pulte became widely known for online philanthropy efforts and charitable giving campaigns on social media, where he distributed money directly to Americans facing financial hardships.
He is also the grandson of William J. Pulte, founder of homebuilding giant PulteGroup.