WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has tapped federal housing finance Director Bill Pulte to be acting director of national intelligence to replace Tulsi Gabbard.
Trump made the surprise announcement Tuesday on Truth Social regarding Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and chair of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Trump says Pulte "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 says Pulte will keep his other positions even as he fills in for Gabbard, who resigned last month after revealing her husband's cancer diagnosis.
If formally nominated, Pulte would need to be confirmed by the Senate to hold the position full time.
READ MORE: Tulsi Gabbard's full resignation letter as director of national intelligence
Pulte's current role involves ensuring the soundness of the mortgage market, but he morphed into a megaphone who went after the Republican president's perceived political foes.
Pulte has mainly trained his sights on Trump's domestic rivals, going after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for having not cutting the central bank's benchmark interest rates as aggressively as the president wanted. It's unclear what national security expertise Pulte has, but he has been a frequent guest on Air Force One as Trump has traveled to Mar-a-Lago, his home and club in Palm Beach, Florida.