What to know about Trump's controversial pick of Bill Pulte for acting spy chief

Geoff Bennett:

President Trump today named Bill Pulte, the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, as acting director of national intelligence, replacing Tulsi Gabbard. Pulte, a loyal Trump ally who has frequently targeted the president's political opponents, has no background in national intelligence.

As acting DNI, he will oversee the nation's 18 intelligence agencies while also keeping his current role as a housing official. That's according to Mr. Trump's announcement on social media. The appointment drew swift criticism from Democrats, while the Senate's top Republican also raised concerns about the selection.

We're joined now by White House correspondent Liz Landers.

So, Liz, Mr. Pulte currently heads the agencies that deal with housing and mortgages. What more should we know about his background?

Liz Landers:

He comes from this homebuilding empire, the Pulte Group. He's a Floridian by birth. He's relatively young at 38 years old. And, as you mentioned, he's currently the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the chairman of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

It's not clear what his intelligence background is. And, today, Dr. Mehmet Oz, the CMS administrator, briefed reporters in the White House Briefing Room today, and myself and three other reporters asked about his qualifications. Here is our exchange.

Congressional statute says any appointee for the position of the director of national intelligence shall have extensive national security expertise. What extensive national security expertise does he have?

Dr. Mehmet Oz:

Ma'am, you're asking me a question that's out of my lane. I'm so focused on making sure Americans are healthy that I had not been looking at what other agencies do.

(Crosstalk)

Liz Landers:

Now, Dr. Oz says that he trusts the president's judgment in appointing Mr. Pulte to this role.

And President Trump defended this pick on TRUTH Social writing today that Pulte has -- quote -- "deep experience managing the most sensitive matters in America, the safety and soundness of the markets and over $10 trillion at Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac."

Geoff Bennett:

So, Bill Pulte, as we said, replaces Tulsi Gabbard, who fell out of favor with President Trump. What is Pulte's relationship with the president like? How closely have they worked together?

Liz Landers:

By all accounts, Pulte has worked to build a close relationship with Trump in -- with President Trump in this role as the housing czar.

We spoke with him, a group of reporters, outside the West Wing in January. And one of the things that he was talking about at that moment was pushing investigations into the president's perceived political enemies, like New York Attorney General Letitia James and Lisa Cook.

Listen to what he was saying then.

Bill Pulte, Director, Federal Housing Finance Agency:

I can only speak to the mortgage fraud allegations, which is, I believe she's guilty as hell. She's crooked. In the case of saying that something's going to be her secondary residence when it's an investment property, this is not stuff that we can have in the mortgage market. And Letitia James is one example, but Lisa Cook would be another.

Liz Landers:

That comment was about the New York attorney general there, but also Lisa Cook, who has served on the Federal Reserve, has been a target of the president, and he has tried to fire her.

The New York Times has reported that, over the past year, Pulte has rubbed Justice Department officials the wrong way by pushing for these kinds of prosecutions. He's also aligned himself with Ed Martin, who is a far right activist who ran the Department of Justice Weaponization Task Force for a time period.

Geoff Bennett:

So what has the reaction been across Washington today?

Liz Landers:

There are questions about this pick, and especially on Capitol Hill. Usually, there's a rigorous confirmation process. Tulsi Gabbard went through that when she was confirmed for this role.

Democratic Senator Chris Coons told our Hill team this earlier:

Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE):

To put someone whose only qualification is his demonstrated willingness to help President Trump pursue his political enemies is risky for the American people and should be opposed by the Senate.

Liz Landers:

And, as you mentioned, the Republican majority leader in the Senate, John Thune, is also raising questions about this. He told reporters this morning -- quote -- "We don't need a weaponized DNI. We need professionals there. If he's somebody we want in that position permanently, he's got a lengthy road ahead of him."

Also, Senator John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, told our colleague Lisa Desjardins: "I see no evidence of any qualifications for that job."

But, Geoff, I spoke with one Trump ally, who told me that we have seen people appointed to administrations, Democratic and Republican administrations, where people may not necessarily have the exact qualifications for the role, but they have the trust of the president.

This person said that, for Trump, the trust credential weighs much higher than in other administrations -- Geoff.

Geoff Bennett:

All right, Liz Landers, our thanks to you, as always.

Liz Landers:

Of course.