Busy Primary Day Sweeps the Nation

What To Watch in Tuesday's Primaries

Voters will head to the polls in California, Iowa, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota.

Ousted GOP senator wastes no time going rogue on Trump's DNI pick after primary betrayal

President Donald Trump received immediate backlash Tuesday over his pick to replace outgoing Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard – and just hours later, the nominee may already be in trouble after a GOP senator ousted by Trump last week voiced concerns, according to one Senate reporter.Trump’s nominee was Bill Pulte, currently the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Pulte has no prior intelligence or national security experience, and his nomination was immediately scrutinized by liberal and conservative critics alike.Pulte will need to be confirmed as National Intelligence director by the Senate, but according to NOTUS Senate reporter Igor Bobic, one GOP senator – Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), who lost his primary election last week to his Trump-backed opponent — is already skeptical.“YOLO watch,” Bobic wrote in a social media post on X, referencing the abbreviation for the slang term “you only live once.” “Cornyn says he doesn’t believe Bill Pulte is qualified to serve [as National Intelligence director]. And he says he has ‘serious concerns’ with the reconciliation bill.”Cornyn is just one of several outgoing GOP lawmakers who, after either resigning or losing their re-election bid due in part to Trump’s interference or threats of interference, may feel less compelled to go along with the president’s agenda.YOLO watchCornyn says he doesn’t believe Bill Pulte is qualified to serve at DNIAnd he says he has “serious concerns” with the reconciliation bill— Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) June 2, 2026

Trump names new director of national intelligence to replace Tulsi Gabbard

President Donald Trump has announced who will replace Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence.Gabbard announced her resignation as DNI last month after serving in the office for a year and a half. She cited her husband's "extremely rare form of bone cancer" diagnosis as the main reason.'Bill is a great guy who recognizes that the bureaucracy of the intel community must respond to the elected leadership.' Now, Trump has appointed William Pulte to take her place as acting director.Pulte was the head of Pulte Homes, the third-largest homebuilder in the U.S., with billions in revenue, before he was picked by Trump to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency."I am appointing the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and Chairman of Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, William J. Pulte, to serve as Acting Director of National Intelligence," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social Tuesday."William has deep experience managing the most sensitive matters in America, the safety and soundness of the Markets, and over 10 Trillion Dollars at Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, a substantial increase from where it was just 12 months ago," Trump added.Pulte used the resources of the FHFA to find evidence of alleged mortgage fraud committed by some of Trump's most vehement political enemies, including Democratic New York Attorney General Letitia James and former Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.).Some Democrats cited those investigations as evidence that Pulte will do the same as DNI."I will be a hard NO on FISA Section 702 reauthorization," wrote Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu of California in a statement on social media. "Whether or not the totally unqualified and corrupt Bill Pulte gets confirmed, trump’s nomination of Pulte has already shown trump would have no problem with weaponizing intelligence against Americans he doesn’t like."RELATED: Pulte calls for investigation into Fed Chair Jerome Powell — and for his removal Vice President JD Vance praised the decision."Bill is a great guy who recognizes that the bureaucracy of the intel community must respond to the elected leadership (rather than the other way around). He'll do great!" he wrote on social media.For the time being, Pulte will serve as acting director. He will need Senate confirmation to become the official director.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Rick Crawford should be Trump’s next director of national intelligence

At the end of this month, Tulsi Gabbard steps down as the director of national intelligence, following a bumpy 16-month tenure as our nation’s top spy. Gabbard was an unconventional fit, as a Democrat opposed to most foreign wars. In President Donald Trump’s second term, with its multiple military operations around the globe, she became […]

Republican Senators Shocked by Trump’s New Director of National Intel

At least four Republican senators are not feeling Bill Pulte, President Trump’s pick to replace Tulsi Gabbard as acting director of national intelligence. “I see no evidence of any qualifications for that job,” GOP Senator John Cornyn, who recently lost his reelection campaign thanks to a Trump endorsement of his opponent, told PBS’s Lisa Desjardins. “He doesn’t seem very qualified,” added Senator Bill Cassidy, who also lost his reelection campaign thanks to the president. “I don’t know of any national security experience that he has,” said Senator Thom Tillis, who is retiring at the end of this term. “So I’ll be looking at that first and foremost.”“Well, we don’t need a weaponized DNI, we need professionals there,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune. “So, again, I’ve just heard about it. I’ll try and get more information about the current state of their thinking about that position. And again, if he’s somebody they want in that position permanently, he’s got, as you all know, a lengthy road ahead of him.” Thune is right to be worried about a weaponized intelligence community in Pulte’s hands. With zero national security experience, Pulte has made a name for himself using his previous role at Fannie Mae to attack Trump’s political enemies. Now, with even Republicans voicing displeasure just hours after his announcement, any possibility of Pulte’s taking over the position permanently is firmly in jeopardy.

Trump names Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence

President Trump has named Bill Pulte, the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, as the acting director of national intelligence after Tulsi Gabbard resigned from the position. NBC News' Gabe Gutierrez reports on the appointment and Pulte's past work in the administration.

Even GOP senators are blasting Trump push to 'weaponize' national intelligence

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump announced that Bill Pulte, a “home-building heir” who currently oversees the Federal Housing Finance Agency, would step in as acting Director of National Intelligence to replace Tulsi Gabbard. The decision has drawn swift bipartisan criticism over Pulte’s total lack of experience and what is viewed as an effort to “weaponize” the U.S. intelligence apparatus. "We don't need a weaponized DNI, we need professionals there," declared Senator Majority Leader John Thune (R-SC). “If he's somebody we want in that position permanently, he's got a lengthy road ahead of him.”Fears over weaponization stem from Pulte’s previous efforts to target Trump’s enemies. As the head of the FHFA, he used his position to suggest criminal charges for mortgage fraud against the likes of New York Attorney General Letitia James, Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Federal Reserve board member Lisa Cook — all of whom drew the president’s ire over various incidents.With all this in mind, Senator Mark Warner, a top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, shared Thune’s sentiments, blasting at length: “This appointment speaks volumes about what this president expects from the nation's top intelligence official. Rather than selecting a respected national security professional capable of delivering independent judgments, the president has chosen an official who has demonstrated not just willingness but eagerness to use the authorities of government to pursue political retribution.”“Americans have already seen Mr. Pulte use the powers of his office at the Federal Housing Finance Agency to pursue the president's grievances and lend credibility to dubious prosecutions of President Trump's perceived political opponents,” Warner continued. “Elevating him to oversee the Intelligence Community makes clear that this president is not looking for an intelligence leader who will follow the facts or speak truth to power, but rather someone who will be willing to shape intelligence around the president's wishes, regardless of the cost to the American people.”What’s more, Warner took issue with Pulte’s bona fides, or lack thereof, arguing, "The concern is not only that Mr. Pulte lacks the ‘extensive national security experience' required by statute for the job, which was created after intelligence failures led to the deaths of thousands of Americans on 9/11. It is that he appears to have been selected precisely because the White House believes he will provide the narrative it wants, not the intelligence we need. Americans have every reason to worry about what happens when the official charged with overseeing everything from counterterrorism to foreign election threats is chosen for his willingness to advance the president's political agenda rather than his experience. That is how intelligence becomes politicized, how inconvenient facts disappear, how agencies charged with protecting our democracy instead become tools to manipulate it, and how Americans are left more vulnerable to a terrorist attack."Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) put it more simply: “I see no evidence of any qualifications for that job.” And Senator Angus King (Independent-ME), who serves on the Senate Intelligence Committee, rounded things out, “By any objective assessment — in terms of experience, expertise, background — this appointment makes no sense.”Journalist Chris Hayes summed up the collective assessment well, posting, “This is so utterly insane I’m at a loss. But it makes sense if you want to turn the entire U.S. intelligence apparatus into a tool for domestic persecution and domination.”

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