Trump appoints housing regulator as acting spy chief

By Brett Rowland
The Center Square

President Donald Trump on Tuesday named Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte as acting director of national intelligence, placing a housing-finance regulator with no apparent intelligence background in charge of the nation’s spy agencies while continuing to oversee more than $10 trillion in federally backed mortgage assets.

Trump announced the appointment on Truth Social, his social media platform, writing that Pulte has 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.”

Former Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced her resignation May 22, citing her husband Abraham’s diagnosis with a rare form of bone cancer. Gabbard had planned to remain in the position through June 30.

Because the appointment is temporary, Pulte can serve as acting DNI without Senate confirmation. He was confirmed by the Senate on a bipartisan vote in March 2025 to lead the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which regulates Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks.

Pulte’s background is primarily in housing finance. Before leading the FHFA, he founded Pulte Capital Partners and served on the board of homebuilder Pulte Homes.

Federal law requires a nominee for DNI to possess “extensive national security expertise,” according to 50 U.S.C. § 3023. The statute does not specify whether that requirement applies to acting appointments. Another provision prohibits the DNI from simultaneously leading an intelligence agency but does not address whether the officeholder may concurrently run an unrelated federal agency.

Joe Spielberger, senior policy counsel at the Project on Government Oversight, said the appointment meets the technical requirements of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, which governs temporary appointments to Senate-confirmed positions. However, he noted that a separate statute states the principal deputy director of national intelligence “shall” serve during a vacancy, creating what he described as an unresolved legal tension.

Pulte succeeds Aaron Lukas, a former CIA chief of station with more than two decades of intelligence-community experience, who had been serving as acting DNI following Gabbard’s departure.

Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., said Pulte lacks the national-security experience contemplated by the statute.

Committee Chairman Tom Cotton, R-Ark., declined to comment, saying he had “no observations on the matter.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said that “if the administration decides to pursue a permanent appointment, it’ll have to come to the Congress” for confirmation hearings and a Senate vote.

Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, defended the appointment at a White House press availability Tuesday, describing Pulte as “a terrific guy, very careful person, very much in the details” and someone “trusted by the President.”

Asked specifically why Americans should trust Pulte given his lack of national security experience, Hassett said Pulte “will do a great job.”

Asked about the statutory experience requirement at a separate White House briefing, CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said the question was “outside of my lane.”

Pulte assumes the role as Congress faces a June 12 deadline to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which permits the government to collect communications of non-U.S. persons located abroad for foreign-intelligence purposes without obtaining individual warrants.

He is expected to continue serving simultaneously as FHFA director, overseeing an $81.9 billion intelligence budget across 18 agencies while also supervising Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks, which together back more than $10 trillion in housing-related assets.