Acting DNI Bill Pulte leads the office after Trump named him acting director; ongoing budget and staffing debates shape intelligence leadership.
Tulsi Gabbard has announced she will resign as U.S. director of national intelligence, effective June 30, saying she must care for her husband after his diagnosis with a rare bone cancer. The White House has said Aaron Lukas will serve as acting DNI; Reuters reports a source saying the White House forced her out.
President Donald Trump has named Bill Pulte, the Federal Housing Finance Agency director and chair of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, as acting director of national intelligence. Pulte will keep his housing posts, has no known intelligence experience and can serve up to 210 days without Senate confirmation, prompting bipartisan concern about politicising the intelligence community.
The Senate has passed a border-enforcement measure after a tense vote-a-rama, highlighting deep splits within the Republican Party over Trump-aligned priorities. The package now heads to the House, where support and objections are both likely to shape its fate in a politically charged election year.
President Donald Trump has delayed Jay Clayton’s Senate confirmation and said Bill Pulte will remain acting director of national intelligence. Trump has tied progress on renewing Section 702 surveillance authority and Clayton’s confirmation to passage of a voter ID bill and has ordered Pulte to cut ODNI staff and return employees to their home agencies.