This week, Donald Trump announced that he was naming Bill Pulte to replace Tulsi Gabbard as the acting Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The nomination was dead the moment it came out of Trump’s mouth.

Over the last day or so, at least six Republican senators have already criticized the nomination or the candidate, or have outright stated they will not support it. The Senate Intelligence chairman is dodging questions, and the Senate Majority Leader has told reporters that the road to confirmation will be a lengthy one for Pulte.

With a 53-47 edge, Trump can only afford to have three defectors, but there are already six votes in question, which gives Pulte virtually no path to confirmation.

Pulte can serve as acting DNI for up to 210 days, but if Trump wants him in that position permanently, it simply is not going to happen.

The optics on the pick itself are not good. Pulte has no experience in a field where experience is a must for a position of this magnitude, especially when there were far better options available.

The Grievance is Real

I had expressed my problems with Tulsi Gabbard when Trump first nominated her, but this was a loyalty payoff for her support during the election. Trump should have found a different home for her, as they were clearly not on the same page on many intelligence-related issues. When she was nominated, I had actually mentioned my surprise at the role, as I thought Veterans Affairs would have been ideal for her.

For instance, Gabbard had posted a video only days before the launch of Operation Epic Fury, warning about “warmongers fomenting fear between nuclear powers.”

Gabbard had created uneasiness in the administration, and rumors were flying about her dismissal long before she ever announced her resignation, which she attributed to her husband's medical diagnosis. I covered all of this in a deep dive after her resignation was announced (read that full report).

We needed someone else in that position. We need someone who is both on the same page as Trump, as well as someone with the proper background who can truly reform the intelligence community while not knocking the train off its tracks.

Bill Pulte is not that man.

Why Pulte is the Wrong Choice

I can break this down into five major points:

1. He doesn’t have the resume. Before joining the administration, Pulte was in residential construction. Trump installed him as the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which fell in line with his credentials. He has no intelligence or military background, at least one of which is considered a requirement for this post. When Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) was asked about him, she said he had “no knowledge” of him at all.
2. Already tagged as weaponizing authority. Pulte will never get any Democrat support because as soon as he took his post, he went after New York Attorney General Letitia James and Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook on mortgage allegations. The James case flopped, and the Cook case will likely do the same. The optics were that Trump asked him for something, so he delivered it, regardless of what the evidence showed.
3. Failed prosecutions. As noted above, the prosecutions he has levied have failed. The James case was an absolute disaster out of the gate, made worse by what has been deemed an illegal appointment by the Department of Justice (DOJ). We are seeing the pattern develop here. Pulte initiates a referral, then Trump gets the headline he wants, but the case falls apart either due to lack of evidence or, worse, misrepresented evidence, and then the judges are framed as activists. That may not be such a big deal other than embarrassment while running the FHFA, but it is a huge deal when you are in charge of national security.
4. Retaining other roles. Trump has this obsession with having people fill multiple roles, and that is simply not an option here. In addition to running the FHFA, Pulte is also the chairman of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and is now adding acting DNI to the plate. How can one individual with no experience now oversee 17 intelligence agencies while also managing $10 trillion in mortgage assets?
5. He’s alienated members of the administration already. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Pulte nearly came to blows. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), who is no friend to the administration, called Pulte an “incendiary attack dog.” Trump loves that personality type because it mimics his own, but that is not necessarily what you need in a position that demands multi-agency cooperation to be successful.

The Job

The DNI oversees 17 different agencies, accounting for more than 100,000 employees. It has a budget of about $90 billion. It was created after the 9/11 attacks due to a previous lack of coordination between our intelligence agencies. That lack of coordination has been cited as one of the primary reasons those attacks were able to be carried out successfully.

The DNI also serves as the president’s primary intelligence advisor. The DNI delivers the Daily Brief, which is the most sensitive intelligence document produced by our government.

The DNI signs off on all covert operations, as well as coordinating intelligence with all of our allies. This individual also manages the National Counterterrorism Center, the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, and the National Counterproliferation Center.

We are not making French fries at McDonald’s. Point being, this is not an on-the-job training position. You need to have relationships in place. You need to know the jargon. You need to be able to understand and communicate the raw data. This is literally the most consequential intelligence apparatus in the world, and it was just handed off to someone whose life experience is mortgages and building homes. That experience does not relate here.

Ideally, the individual will have some military experience, as well as intelligence service at the highest levels. Remember, in addition to analysis, this person is running the financial aspects of the department. Pulte may be able to handle the financial aspects of the position, maybe, but he doesn’t have the necessary three-letter acronyms on his resume to pull this off.

Better Options Available

This was not an appointment of necessity for Trump, but one of choice, which is astounding when you consider some of the options he already had available to him who are also friendly to this administration.

To be clear, I am not endorsing any of these individuals, but merely pointing out that Pulte was simply a bad choice.

Mike Pompeo: former CIA Director for the first Trump administration, also served as Secretary of State. He has the intelligence experience, and he has the connections in place. While loyal to Trump, he has pushed back on occasion, and Trump has attacked him, so this bridge may be burnt.

Former Congressman Devin Nunes: served as the Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and currently leads Truth Social as Chief Executive Officer of Trump Media and Technology Group. He has intelligence oversight on his resume, and his current position gives him the administrative experience he would need. Far from my first choice, but far better than Pulte.

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA): a former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) supervisory special agent who served on counterterrorism and intelligence assignments.

Retired Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg: served as National Security Advisor to Vice President Mike Pence and as Trump's Special Envoy on Ukraine and Russia. He has decades of military and intelligence experience.

Retired General Jack Keane: has spent decades in senior military intelligence and strategic analysis roles. He is a frequent Trump-aligned national security voice and would carry institutional weight at the position.

These are just the names I pulled off the top of my head, and at least three of them would have no problem at all getting through committee. So why choose Pulte?

The Math Doesn’t Work

With a 53-47 advantage, and the senators who have already backed out or expressed hesitation. Even getting to a 50-50 tie that JD Vance could break is not likely.

Senators John Thune (R-SD), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Tom Cotton (R-AR) have all expressed concerns.

You may also note that several of those names are senators who face Trump’s wrath on an almost daily basis, which goes back to my point that Trump needs to stop attacking within the party. He does himself no favors by alienating Republicans.

Seeing a Pattern

Several days ago, I wrote a report about the death of the anti-weaponization fund (click here to read that report). In that report, I noted how, now that the primary season is about halfway over, we are starting to see more resistance to Trump from within the party.

They don’t need his endorsement any longer, or they don’t fear being primaried, so they are starting to protect their seats more than stand up for Trump.

The anti-weaponization fund. The ballroom funding. The Iran withdrawal legislation in the House. And now a DNI nomination.

Trump will call them all cowards. Right-wing outlets will attack them. None of which will help Trump.

On the other side, moderates will say this is the system working like it should, as nobody should have a rubber stamp to do whatever they want.

Regardless of the take, there is clearly a pattern shift, and with more than two years to go, Trump has to be concerned about this.

210 Days

Maybe we are all wrong about Pulte, and he will stun everyone with an exceptional performance over his 210 days as the Acting DNI.

Unfortunately, if Pulte proves us right, national security is at risk at a time when we have two major allies in a conflict and have a war of our own with Iran. All these conflicts require accurate intelligence assessments and decisions. Does anyone truly think he is capable of doing that with absolutely zero experience?

Even a small miss by Pulte could result in a prolonged war and loss of life, and sadly, that is the floor of risk here. I need everyone to digest that for a second before rallying behind Pulte.