President Donald Trump’s new Acting Director of National Intelligence (DNI), Bill Pulte is already working to reshape the agency. Just days after taking over the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), Pulte has begun firing employees as part of a broader downsizing effort.
Straight Arrow first reported last week that Pulte visited ODNI headquarters before his official start date to assess the agency’s operations and staffing. When announcing the appointment, Trump said he wanted Pulte to “execute the immediate and needed downsizing of the office.”
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One source told CNN that the National Counterterrorism Center and the National Counterintelligence and Security Center are expected to be among the hardest hit.
A source familiar with the process told multiple news outlets, “The deep state firings have begun.”
A controversial pick
Pulte officially took over the ODNI last Friday despite concerns from lawmakers in both parties about his lack of intelligence experience. His role is expected to be temporary.
Trump has nominated Jay Clayton to lead the agency permanently, but put that nomination on hold last week during a standoff with Congress.
Before joining the intelligence community, Pulte served as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Under that role, he went after several of Trump’s perceived political rivals, launching multiple mortgage fraud investigations against people like New York Attorney General Letitia James and Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook.
Critics of Pulte’s job change have raised concerns over Pulte’s potential to push Trump’s agenda within the intelligence community.
“This appointment speaks volumes about what this president expects from the nation’s top intelligence official,” Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chair Mark Warner, D-Va., said in a statement on June 2. “Rather than selecting a respected national security professional capable of delivering independent judgments, the president has chosen an official who has demonstrated not just willingness but eagerness to use the authorities of government to pursue political retribution.”
Pulte can legally only serve 210 days as Acting DNI.
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