Trump has appointed Bill Pulte as
acting director of national intelligence, elevating the housing regulator to one of the government’s most sensitive national security posts. The move installs a fiercely polarizing figure atop the intelligence community at a moment of heightened political tension and ongoing turnover inside the administration.
Bill Pulte, 38, is a housing‑finance regulator, private equity founder and heir to the PulteGroup home‑building fortune whose career has been marked by aggressive tactics, high‑profile feuds and a knack for inserting himself into political and corporate power centers.
Since taking over the FHFA in 2025, Pulte has consolidated control over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, fired senior staff, sidelined ethics officials and pushed abrupt policy shifts—including a widely criticized
proposal for 50‑year mortgages. He has also used his authority to pursue Trump’s political adversaries, sending criminal referrals targeting New York Attorney General Letitia James, Senator Adam Schiff, Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook and former Representative Eric Swalwell. The referrals have prompted lawsuits, congressional letters and a federal watchdog investigation into whether Pulte abused government databases.
IOW, he is a political hack with no experience in a job that specifically requires that experience,
by law.
