As the Iran war enters its fourth month, President Donald Trump has chosen Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), to serve as acting director of national intelligence. The move replaces outgoing intelligence head Tulsi Gabbard with a staunch Trump loyalist.
Announcing the promotion in a Truth Social post Tuesday morning, Trump said Pulte — who has no reported intelligence background or experience in matters of national security — will retain his role atop the FHFA, which regulates Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. He will also stay on as chairman of the pair’s boards of directors, to which Pulte appointed himself last year.
“William 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,” wrote Trump. Pulte is the grandson of the founder of Pulte Homes (now PulteGroup), a large publicly traded U.S. home builder.
It is unclear what “10 Trillion Dollars” Trump was referencing. Fannie and Freddie had a combined net worth of roughly $186 billion at the end of the first quarter, according to their earnings statements, and combined mortgage portfolios of around $7.87 trillion.
As the top White House intelligence official, Pulte will oversee the 18 agencies that comprise the broader U.S. intelligence community — from the CIA and FBI to the NSA and Defense Intelligence Agency — while helping to align national security priorities and budgets across the intelligence community.
The outgoing director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, submitted a resignation letter to Trump on May 22, citing a cancer diagnosis of her husband’s, with an effective date of June 30 for her departure. Separate media reports in recent weeks indicate repeated missteps by the former congresswoman from Hawaii had caused her to lose favor with the president and senior administration officials.
As Gabbard’s successor, Pulte will be responsible for delivering a daily intelligence briefing to Trump that summarizes some of the most sensitive and classified intelligence collected worldwide, covering matters related but not limited to terrorism, cyberattacks, foreign government affairs, nuclear proliferation and emerging health crises and military threats.
Pulte, who turned 38 last week, has led a controversial tenure at the FHFA, from architecting a widely denounced 50-year mortgage proposal to aggressively and publicly advancing core Trump administration policies, such as weeding out waste, fraud and abuse and eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives across federal government.
After joining the FHFA last March, Pulte ousted numerous board members without explanation. He has overseen large staffing cuts across both companies and the FHFA while rolling back Fannie and Freddie’s affordable housing initiatives.
Pulte is currently being investigated by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, a congressional watchdog agency, for his handling of mortgage fraud-related criminal referrals to the Department of Justice (DOJ) against perceived political opponents of the president.
That investigation includes Pulte’s public disclosure of private citizens’ personal financial records on social media, which could constitute violations of the Privacy Act of 1974, Democratic lawmakers who initiated the congressional inquiry say.
The U.S. housing market is on track in 2026 to repeat its fourth consecutive year of roughly 30-year lows in home sales as entrenched lock-in effects and affordability barriers hinder demand. Questions submitted to the FHFA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac regarding Pulte’s capacity to juggle his added responsibilities as the head of national intelligence were unreturned by the time of publication.
