Trump Orders Acting DNI to Slash Intelligence Office, Sparking Bipartisan Backlash
President Donald Trump has directed his newly installed acting Director of National Intelligence, Bill Pulte, to significantly reduce the size and scope of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), intensifying a broader restructuring of the federal intelligence community that has triggered bipartisan alarm in Congress. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on June 5, Trump said the office has been “way too high for way too long” and told the Wall Street Journal that Pulte should “start the process” of firing employees.
Background: An Office Already Cut in Half
The directive builds on aggressive workforce reductions already implemented by outgoing DNI Tulsi Gabbard, who resigned in May after revealing her husband’s cancer diagnosis. Under Gabbard, the ODNI slashed its workforce from approximately 1,800 to 1,300 — a roughly 40% reduction — and cut the budget by more than $700 million annually. An ODNI official told the New York Post that Gabbard ultimately reduced staff by nearly 50%, saving close to $1 billion per year.
“Since DNI Gabbard’s first day, she said she was willing to be the last Director of National Intelligence if it was determined that ODNI was unnecessary,” the official said.
Pulte: A Controversial Pick
Pulte, who currently serves as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and chairman of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, was named acting DNI on June 1. He has no known experience in intelligence, counterterrorism, diplomacy, or national security policy — a background that has drawn sharp criticism from both Democrats and some Republicans.
As AP News reported, Trump indicated Pulte will serve temporarily and will not be formally nominated for the permanent position, with the president saying he is considering five candidates for the permanent DNI role. Trump told reporters that Pulte’s acting status gives him more latitude: “It sort of gives you more power, you know, for a somewhat limited period of time.”
At the FHFA, Pulte gained notoriety for making criminal referrals to the Department of Justice against Trump’s perceived adversaries, including Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and Senator Adam Schiff. These actions bypassed the FHFA Inspector General and prompted a Government Accountability Office investigation, as Time detailed.
FISA Fallout and Senate Gridlock
The appointment has had immediate consequences on Capitol Hill. Senate Democrats blocked renewal of FISA Section 702 surveillance authorities in protest of Pulte’s appointment, citing concerns about his qualifications and the politicization of the intelligence office. As The Guardian reported, seven Republican senators joined Democrats in the 47-52 vote against advancing the extension, which would have set up a final vote before the June 12 deadline.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune called the Democratic position “terribly irresponsible,” while Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, argued that Pulte was selected because he was “100% loyal to doing anything and everything President Trump demands.”
Analysis: A Shift in Intelligence Culture
Brian O’Neill, a professor at Georgia Tech’s Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, wrote in Just Security that Pulte’s appointment signals a fundamental shift in the DNI’s role. “The question is not only whether he is qualified,” O’Neill wrote. “It is whether his appointment confirms that the DNI role under Trump is being remade into something different from both the post-9/11 statutory design and the imperfect coordinating role the office has usually performed.”
Under Trump’s second term, CIA Director John Ratcliffe has effectively become the president’s principal intelligence adviser, while the DNI office has taken on a more political function. Gabbard was reportedly excluded from critical White House decision-making on the Iran war, which began on February 28, 2026, and instead focused on investigating Trump’s claims of 2020 election fraud.
Trump told reporters that Pulte should continue investigating alleged election fraud, saying “He may find out some things about the rigged election.” When asked what intelligence information Pulte should release regarding the 2020 election, Trump replied: “I would say everything. He should look at everything and make a determination.”
What’s Next
The FISA impasse remains unresolved, with national security implications as the surveillance program faces expiration. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a former Senate Intelligence Committee member, publicly stated he had never encountered Pulte in an intelligence context, underscoring the breadth of concern about the appointment. With the November 2026 midterm elections approaching, the controversy over the politicization of the intelligence community is likely to remain a central political battleground.
As O’Neill warned, the danger is not that Pulte will single-handedly redirect U.S. intelligence collection overnight. Rather, it is that an acting DNI with little attachment to intelligence tradecraft, placed atop an office already drifting toward political utility, could help normalize the use of intelligence authorities for domestic political purposes. The next failure, he cautioned, “may come not from silence, but from warning stripped of real authority.”