Bill Pulte, FHFA director, speaking on CNBC on January 8, 2026.
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President Donald Trump reportedly said Friday that he wants incoming Acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte to “begin the process” of firing a large number of employees in the DNI’s office.
wall street journal Trump was reported to have said in an interview that the firing would be part of a shakeup of the American intelligence community. DNI’s office Oversees 18 US intelligence agencies, including the CIA and the National Security Agency.
Trump’s comments are sure to draw the ire of members of Congress, including Republican senators, who have already criticized the president’s appointment of Pulte to replace outgoing DNI Tulsi Gabbard on an acting basis earlier this week.
Trump said Thursday that Pulte “will not be permanent” in the role.
While flying on Air Force One to Wisconsin on Friday, Trump was asked by reporters who was under consideration for the permanent DNI slot.
“I’ve had five interviews, and we’ll have a really good person looking at things,” he said.
Pulte, who has no intelligence agency experience, will serve as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency until Trump nominates another person to be DNI.
Trump told Pulte he believed the DNI office was “unnecessary or too large,” the Journal reported Friday, citing the president’s characterization of that discussion.
“I would like to see it smaller. I think there are a lot of people there who shouldn’t be there,” he told the newspaper.
When Trump re-entered the White House for a second term in January 2025, the DNI’s office had approximately 1,800 employees. Federal News Network.
After being confirmed as DNI by the Senate, Gabbard cut about 30% of the office’s staff, the office said in a statement. fact sheet Released in August 2025, detailing their plans to further cut staff numbers.
Trump told the Journal that he wants Pulte to “begin the process” of reducing the staff of the DNI office, and that his eventual nominee for DNI should continue that effort.
While Pulte’s lack of apparent practical experience for DNI has been a major source of concern for critics of his appointment, another factor has been his aggressiveness in targeting people who have angered Trump.
Pulte last year brought criminal mention of alleged mortgage fraud against New York Attorney General Letitia James and Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook.
A criminal indictment in Virginia federal court against James in connection with alleged mortgage fraud was dismissed by a judge last year, who ruled that Lindsay Halligan, the US attorney chosen by Trump to serve as US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, was illegally appointed.
James has denied wrongdoing and said she was targeted for successfully suing Trump in New York state court in a case alleging trade fraud.
Trump last summer called for Cook to be fired, citing Pulte’s allegations, which she denies. Cook, who angered Trump by refusing to vote to demand an interest rate cut, remains at the Fed pending the Supreme Court’s decision on whether the president can fire him for his alleged cause.
