Trump puts Bill Pulte atop US intelligence in acting role
What's next: Trump wants Pulte to begin shrinking the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and remove staff.
President Donald Trump tapped Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte to serve as acting director of national intelligence, handing a housing finance regulator one of the government's most sensitive national security jobs. Trump later told The Wall Street Journal he wants Pulte to start reducing the size of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, calling it too large and unnecessary. Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton backed that push, arguing the office has expanded beyond the mission Congress set after the Sept. 11 attacks. The move drew criticism from lawmakers and former officials who questioned Pulte's qualifications for the post.