Director of the US Federal Housing Finance Agency Bill Pulte speaks with reporters at the White House, September 2, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Trump taps inexperienced housing finance director as new acting US intelligence chief

Trump loyalist Bill Pulte, replacing Tulsi Gabbard, isn’t known to have any national security expertise; will also stay on as head of federal mortgage giants

by · The Times of Israel

WASHINGTON (AP) — US President Donald Trump has tapped federal housing finance director Bill Pulte to be acting director of national intelligence to replace Tulsi Gabbard.

Trump made the surprise announcement Tuesday on Truth Social regarding Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and chair of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Trump said Pulte “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.”

Trump said Pulte will keep his other positions even as he fills in for Gabbard, who resigned last month after revealing her husband’s cancer diagnosis and amid widespread reports she was pushed out by Trump.

If formally nominated, Pulte would need to be confirmed by the Senate to hold the position full time.

Pulte’s current role involves ensuring the soundness of the mortgage market, but he morphed into a megaphone who went after the Republican president’s perceived political foes.

US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, left, departs after the 158th National Memorial Day Observance coinciding with the nation’s 250th anniversary, at the Memorial Amphitheater in Arlington National Cemetery, on May 25, 2026, in Arlington, Virginia. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Pulte has mainly trained his sights on Trump’s domestic rivals, going after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for having not cut the central bank’s benchmark interest rates as aggressively as the president wanted.

It’s unclear what national security expertise Pulte has, but he has been a frequent guest on Air Force One as Trump has traveled to Mar-a-Lago, his home and club in Palm Beach, Florida.

With the pick, Trump who has long viewed the nation’s intelligence agencies with suspicion, is forgoing a director with experience in sensitive intelligence and national security matters and instead selecting a loyal aide who made a career in the homebuilding industry and cultivated a combative social media presence.

Gabbard was seen as an unconventional pick, but she was a former congresswoman who had served in the military.