All articles tagged with #bill pulte
Acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte says the leadership transition at the ODNI will begin this coming Monday after talks with President Trump; Jay Clayton is expected to be sworn in next week, with Pulte offering full support as the agency shifts under new leadership and continues declassifications and staffing changes.
Acting DNI Bill Pulte will begin transferring authority to newly confirmed Jay Clayton on Monday, with Clayton sworn in soon after Senate confirmation. Pulte has touted ODNI reforms and significant staff reductions, while continuing his role as FHFA director and focusing on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The transition follows controversy over Pulte's appointment and related FISA/declassification debates that surrounded the ODNI leadership changes.
The Senate narrowly confirmed Jay Clayton to lead the DNI, but he has not yet been sworn in, leaving acting DNI Bill Pulte in place. Democrats express alarm and seek an explanation amid rising Iran tensions and reports of personnel firings, with concerns about Pulte’s lack of intelligence experience and his simultaneous roles at FHFA and in overseeing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The White House has not specified when Clayton will take office or participate in cabinet meetings.
The Senate voted 51-47 to confirm Jay Clayton as director of national intelligence, replacing acting DNI Bill Pulte who faced backlash over lacking national intelligence experience and the office’s staff cuts. Clayton, a former SDNY U.S. attorney and former regulator, will lead the intelligence community, with Trump praising the pick on Truth Social.
The Senate approved Jay Clayton as director of national intelligence in a 51-47 vote along party lines, replacing acting DNI Bill Pulte after Democrats balked at Clayton’s refusal to say Biden won the 2020 election. The confirmation comes as Trump declassifies materials and presses for ODNI reforms amid Iran tensions, setting Clayton to oversee the 17-member intelligence community and wrestle with renewed scrutiny of Section 702. Clayton’s credentials and GOP backing helped him prevail despite Democratic concerns about independence and the integrity of the 2020 election.
Acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte announced the fourth round of layoffs at ODNI, continuing staffing reductions aimed at refocusing the office on national security, law and statute. The exact numbers and which positions were affected were not disclosed. The move comes as Jay Clayton is nominated to lead DNI and as lawmakers scrutinize ODNI's size; reports say the office now has roughly half of its pre-Trump 2,000 employees.
Leaked details show that Trump’s planned aggressive primetime speech was tempered by senior officials who warned naming intelligence officials could put lives at risk; acting DNI Bill Pulte reportedly pulled back, while Karoline Leavitt directed attendees to give him 'good energy' as he delivered a more cautious address that repeated unproven claims of election fraud.
The White House wrestled with how aggressively to press election-security messaging in Trump’s speech: acting DNI Bill Pulte pressed to name officials allegedly involved in concealing interference, but aides warned it could endanger analysts and undermine the point, so Pulte backed off and Trump stayed on script; Trump remains fixated on election integrity and the SAVE America Act, while declassified docs show mixed findings on China’s role and Jay Clayton moves to oversee the intelligence community.
Jay Clayton, Trump’s pick to lead the U.S. intelligence community, refused to say Joe Biden won the 2020 election during his confirmation hearing, only stating that Biden was certified. He also skirted questions about his prior election-integrity claims and whether a White House official asked him to subpoena New York Times journalists. If confirmed, he would replace acting DNI Bill Pulte, whose short tenure has been controversial; Clayton’s background as a former SEC chair and Wall Street attorney lacks intelligence experience, but he has shown strong support for Trump and has echoed election-fraud theories, including criticism of California’s mail-voting laws.
The Senate Intelligence Committee has scheduled Jay Clayton’s confirmation hearing for July 15 to advance his nomination as director of national intelligence, replacing acting DNI Bill Pulte and paving the way for a three-year extension of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act’s Section 702 authority; Republicans want to confirm Clayton before the August recess, while Democrats refuse to back the reauthorization until Pulte is replaced.
Firing and staffing cuts are underway at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence after President Trump named Bill Pulte acting DNI, directing an immediate downsizing that could affect hundreds of employees. The move has drawn bipartisan concern from lawmakers like Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chair Mark Warner and House Intelligence’s Jim Himes, who warn that major reductions could weaken ODNI’s national-security mission and urge consultation with Congress.
Firing waves have begun at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence as acting DNI Bill Pulte moves to downsizing, following President Trump’s push to cut hundreds of ODNI staff. The cuts are expected to hit units like the National Counterterrorism Center and the National Counterintelligence and Security Center. Democrats on the Senate and House Intelligence Committees warned the reductions could jeopardize the post-9/11 mission, while a White House official tied the action to Trump’s Truth Social post urging downsizing.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, a top Trump ally, publicly breaks with the president on the nomination of Bill Pulte to lead the DNI, urging that Jay Clayton be appointed instead and warning that the GOP's support for Pulte has frayed; Graham argues reauthorizing the FISA law should not require Pulte, notes Clayton would have bipartisan backing, and highlights Trump’s push to tie FISA to voter-ID legislation as a source of intra-party tension.
Trump’s acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte, a loyalist with no national security or intelligence experience, reportedly pressed staff about access to a government jet and even asked about taking the President’s Daily Brief home. Lawmakers on both sides flagged concerns about his qualifications and security clearance, while Trump delayed naming a permanent DNI, tying the move to his broader demands on FISA renewal and the SAVE America Act. Pulte remains acting DNI as the controversy unfolds and Clayton’s confirmation is unsettled.
Bill Pulte, head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, becomes acting director of national intelligence after a political tug-of-war over the post, as Senate confirmation hearings for Jay Clayton are put on hold. Pulte has no intelligence background but is seen as a Trump ally; Democrats have criticized him for pursuing political investigations, and a GAO probe examined whether he improperly accessed opponents’ financial data. With Clayton’s nomination stalled, Pulte will oversee the 18 U.S. spy agencies in an interim capacity.