President Donald Trump on Tuesday named Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence, succeeding Tulsi Gabbard, who recently announced her plans to resign from the role at the end of June. Pulte, who is a close Trump ally, serves as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and chairman of 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, a substantial increase from where it was just 12 months ago,” the president wrote in a Truth Social post Tuesday morning.
Trump further wrote that while Pulte serves as acting director of national intelligence, he will also remain as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency as well as chairman of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The director of national intelligence is a Cabinet role that requires Senate confirmation, but naming Pulte in an acting capacity allows the president to bypass that process for now. It was not immediately clear if Pulte will be Trump’s permanent pick for the job.
Acting officials may serve for 210 days from the start of a vacancy.
Pulte has served as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency since March 2025 after being confirmed by the Senate in a 56-43 vote.
In his role at the agency so far, Pulte has targeted Democrats whom Trump considers to be his political enemies.
In March, Pulte made two criminal referrals against New York Attorney General Letitia James, alleging insurance fraud, months after the Justice Department failed to prosecute her for a third time.
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In May 2025, Pulte sent a criminal referral to the Justice Department for Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., another Democrat against whom Trump has sought retribution.
Current DNI Tulsi Gabbard announced last month that she would resign from the role effective June 30.
Gabbard announced in May that she was resigning as the director of national intelligence, citing her husband's diagnosis with a rare form of bone cancer. About an hour before Trump announced that he was tapping Pulte, Gabbard said in a video on X that she and her husband, Abraham, were headed to the hospital for his surgery.
