The true meaning of Trump’s choice for America’s new top spy

 https://edition.cnn.com/2026/06/03/politics/trump-pulte-dni-election-security-analysis

His elevation on Tuesday of Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, to serve as America’s new acting top spymaster was therefore a classic political move.

The DNI is charged by law with acting as America’s top intelligence official. The role may include briefing the president on potential terrorist attacks, assessing an adversary’s possible moves in wartime, overseeing the most secret counter-intelligence activities and securing presidential approval for covert actions.

The statute creating the Office of the Director of National Intelligence stated the director “shall have extensive national security expertise.” Trump said Tuesday on social media that Pulte had “deep experience managing the most sensitive matters in America, the safety and soundness of the Markets” and $10 trillion at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But Pulte’s record, despite a successful career in high finance, appears to fall well short of the law’s stipulation.

Pulte is an uber-loyalist and a regular in the Mar-a-Lago inner circle; he’s known for rigorously defending Trump on television; and he has shown he’s willing to use the power of government to go after Trump’s enemies. As housing director, he sent the Justice Department criminal referrals on allegations of mortgage fraud against several of Trump’s perceived political enemies.