Pulte not ‘competent’ for intelligence director role

Outgoing Republican Senator Bill Cassidy said during an interview Tuesday at CNBC’s CEO Council Summit that Federal Housing Finance Agency head Bill Pulte does not appear “competent” to serve as acting director of national intelligence.

Cassidy, who recently failed to qualify for a runoff in Louisiana’s Republican primary after President Donald Trump endorsed one of his challengers, Rep. Julia Letlow, R-La., said his Senate colleagues were surprised by the president’s appointment of Pulte as spy chief Tuesday morning.

“Nothing here indicates that he is capable of doing the job he has been hired to do,” Cassidy said. “This is the same conversation I have with my coworkers like OMG.”

Cassidy said, “He has no military background, no intelligence background, he’s going to work at his second job, and he’s not even sure he has a security clearance.”

Intelligence community veterans warned that Pulte is ill-prepared for the job and could jeopardize the quality of U.S. intelligence when he uses the perch to target Trump’s domestic enemies.

Cassidy said he was unsure whether he would support Pulte as a DNI nominee, although Pulte has not been officially nominated for the position. Pulte can serve a limited time as acting DNI if rejected by the Senate.

“The problem with acting is that sometimes people act forever,” Cassidy said, pointing to Julie Su, who served as acting labor secretary during the Biden administration.

Cassidy is not the first Republican to express concern over Pulte’s qualifications. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who lost a primary contest last month, said earlier in the day that he did not believe Pulte was qualified.

The Louisiana senator also warned about the possibility that Pulte could last longer than his approved term.

“Sometimes things that aren’t supposed to be permanent turn out to be quite permanent,” he said.