President Trump said Thursday that his choice to serve as director of national intelligence, Bill Pulte, would only be a temporary selection amid bipartisan controversy over the pick. Trump said Pulte, who’s currently the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, is “very smart” and has “high integrity,” when asked by reporters in the Oval...

 

WASHINGTON, June 10 — US President Donald Trump yesterday said his controversial new pick to oversee US intelligence will begin June 19, earlier than expected.

Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that Bill Pulte will take over as acting director of national intelligence next Friday from Tulsi Gabbard.

Gabbard said last month that she was stepping down to care for her cancer-stricken husband, and had initially planned to stay in the role until the end of June.

Pulte, a 38-year-old home-construction heir, will also “remain as Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and Chairman of Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac,” Trump said in the post.

The director of national intelligence, who heads the sprawling US intelligence community and serves as the president’s main advisor on intelligence issues, is legally required to have “extensive national security expertise.”

But Pulte has generated criticism from US Democratic lawmakers over his lack of experience, and his tenure in US government has even polarized many within Trump’s circle due to his aggressive and public partisan moves.

He has notably accused Democratic Senator Adam Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James of falsifying documents on mortgage applications. The Wall Street Journal reported that an internal complaint at Fannie Mae said Pulte had improperly accessed their mortgage records.

Trump has indicated he does not plan to appoint Pulte to the post on a permanent basis, as it would require confirmation by the US Senate.

Senators last week blocked legislation renewing a major foreign surveillance authority to protest Trump’s appointment of Pulte. — AFP

 

Learn about the personal life of the former Democrat, who resigned as the Director of National Intelligence.

President Trump is sitting down for an interview Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” following a turbulent week marked by new lows in his approval ratings and growing tensions with Senate Republicans that have spilled into public view. As midterm elections loom, the president has faced mounting political pressure on key issues including the economy...

Here’s everything to know about the former Democrat and ex-U.S. director of national intelligence following her recent resignation.

UPDATED: Tulsi Gabbard plans to resign her post as director of national intelligence, the latest Trump administration cabinet member to depart. Gabbard informed the president of her plans in a meeting in the Oval Office on Friday. A source confirmed her plans to leave her post. Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman and Fox News contributor, […]

President Trump has appointed Bill Pulte, an unqualified individual with no experience in intelligence or national security, as Acting Director of National Intelligence, prioritizing his own self-interest over America's national security.