SouthernWorldwide.com – President Donald Trump has given the go-ahead to incoming Acting Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Bill Pulte to initiate the process of dismissing officials within the intelligence community.
Trump announced his selection of Pulte for the interim DNI role on Tuesday. Pulte will be stepping in for the current DNI, Tulsi Gabbard, who submitted her resignation in May following her husband’s diagnosis with a rare form of cancer.
Pulte is slated to assume his duties on June 30, when Gabbard’s resignation officially takes effect. His primary mandate appears to be a reduction in the workforce across the 18 intelligence agencies overseen by the DNI.
“I’d like to see it smaller. I think there are a lot of people in there that shouldn’t be there,” Trump stated to The Wall Street Journal, referring to the intelligence community.
TRUMP APPOINTS BILL PULTE AS ACTING DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE
The choice of Pulte, who currently holds the position of Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency under Trump, has reportedly caused discontent among a number of lawmakers. Among them is former Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., who publicly voiced his disapproval of the appointment.
“We don’t need a weaponized DNI. We need professionals there,” Thune remarked.
However, Trump explained to The Wall Street Journal that Pulte’s status as an outsider was precisely why he was inclined to select him in the first place.
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“You’re less shackled,” Trump told the outlet. “It sort of gives you more power, you know, for a somewhat limited period of time.”
Speaking with reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump addressed concerns about Pulte’s potential difficulties in securing Senate confirmation for a permanent role. He assured the public that a search for a permanent replacement was underway and that Pulte’s interim position could be advantageous.
“Frankly, it might be good for him to shake it up before people come,” Trump said. “Because, if he reduced the size, in conjunction with me…and in conjunction with possibly the person coming in…he can do a lot of the hard work and we wouldn’t have to saddle somebody that goes in,” Trump elaborated to The Wall Street Journal.
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Pulte, who also chairs the government-sponsored entities (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, has already demonstrated an impact on legislative outcomes.
Following an instance where six Senate Republicans joined Democrats to block a bill aimed at reauthorizing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Vice Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., issued a warning. He indicated that Democrats would not support the reauthorization as long as Pulte remained in charge of intelligence matters.
“I don’t see how you get the necessary Democrat votes… that would get them to 60,” Warner stated.
