Trump’s Pick of Pulte as Acting Spy Chief Shows Loyalty Is Top Factor
The president wants revenge on his perceived enemies, and the housing agency head delivers.

Washington Examiner chief political correspondent Byron York argued the new face for the director of national intelligence, Bill Pulte, lacks qualifications for the position. “It seems like a pretty poor choice here,” York said on Fox News’s Special Report Tuesday. President Donald Trump tapped Pulte for the position after the previous director, Tulsi Gabbard, resigned […]
The president wants revenge on his perceived enemies, and the housing agency head delivers.
The Senate on Wednesday voted to start considering a package to fund immigration enforcement agencies after weeks of delay while Republicans pushed back on the White House’s $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund.” The 53-46 vote kicks off hours of debate, followed by a series of unlimited back-to-back amendment votes before final passage later this week. The…
Bill Pulte, President Trump's pick for acting director of national intelligence, is being met with some skepticism on Capitol Hill.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) says he’s “hopeful” that there are enough Republican votes to advance a $72 billion budget reconciliation bill on the Senate floor Wednesday, which would set up a marathon series of votes on amendments likely to last until Thursday morning. “We’re hopeful,” Thune said of advancing the package to fund…
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday said he once told Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte, who President Trump recently tapped to serve as acting head of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), that he “was going to kick his a–.” Bessent made the remark while testifying before the Senate…
Senate Republicans decided not to allocate federal funds to Donald Trump’s ballroom project in the latest draft of their budget reconciliation bill on Wednesday, in a blow to the president’s architectural takeover of the nation’s capital.Before the $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” overshadowed it, Trump’s ballroom project was the clearest example of how his solipsism was hurting American taxpayers. The White House said the ballroom was needed for security purposes, and initially claimed it would be funded with approximately $200 million from Trump and “other patriot donors.”That number later doubled to $400 million, before ballooning to a $1 billion funding request for White House security—part of which would go toward the ballroom.Despite badgering by Trump that the ballroom was especially needed after a gunman attempted to sprint through a security checkpoint at the White House Correspondents Association dinner at the Washington Hilton in April, using taxpayer money on a ballroom was deemed unnecessary by nonpartisan Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough in May. Trump then tried to get MacDonough fired, while his administration submitted court documents claiming the ballroom was somehow “under budget.”Four Republican senators—Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Thom Tillis of North Carolina—publicly voiced opposition to public money going to the vanity project in May. A larger group inside the GOP were privately against the ballroom, according to five anonymous insiders who spoke with Politico. And most GOP senators were likely worried Democrats would put them on the record about whether they supported public funds going to the ballroom during the filibuster process.Trump’s “anti-weaponization fund” has also recently been discarded after he faced public pressure and legal challenges to it.The Senate began voting to begin discussing their reconciliation bill Wednesday at 2:15 p.m. Eastern Time. The bill’s primary impact would be to fully fund the Department of Homeland security through the end of Trump’s second term.
Former Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday said he believes President Trump’s selection of Bill Pulte as outgoing Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s acting replacement will face obstacles. “Well, I don’t know him. I —” Pence said in response to a question about Pulte from CNN’s Kate Bolduan on “CNN News Central.” “Do you…
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