Trump: Bill Pulte Won’t Be Permanent DNI; Long-Term Search Underway

President Trump said Bill Pulte will not be nominated to be the permanent director of national intelligence and that the administration is interviewing other candidates for the role, with Pulte remaining in an acting capacity. Trump defended Pulte as smart with integrity despite questions about his lack of formal national security experience. The move comes as Republicans seek to extend surveillance powers and Democrats threaten to block that effort, amid concerns about the politicization of the intelligence community highlighted by Tulsi Gabbard’s attendance at an FBI search of an election center in Fulton County, Georgia.