Senate Democrats are intensifying criticism of Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence, with Senator Elissa Slotkin calling his appointment “dangerous to democracy” during Senate floor remarks on July 17, 2026, citing his complete lack of national security experience and concerns about potential political weaponization of the intelligence community.
Pulte, who previously headed the Federal Housing Finance Agency, assumed the acting DNI role on June 19, 2026, after President Trump sidestepped the Senate confirmation process. The appointment replaced former DNI Tulsi Gabbard, who stepped down due to her husband’s cancer diagnosis.
Democrats have raised alarm about Pulte’s background. While at the FHFA, he made criminal referrals to the Department of Justice for four Trump opponents on mortgage fraud allegations. As DNI, he now oversees 18 intelligence agencies and has access to classified information spanning the full breadth of U.S. intelligence operations.
Upon taking office, Pulte began firing intelligence officials and staff at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence en masse, drawing immediate concern from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. Senate Intelligence Vice Chair Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat, said the firings were inappropriate for an acting official not confirmed for that specific role.
“If there is an intelligence failure, a missed threat, or a national security crisis on Bill Pulte’s watch, Americans will pay the price, and President Trump will be to blame,” Warner said in a June 23 statement. “He made the deliberate choice to pass over qualified national security professionals and put an unqualified loyalist in charge.”
The controversy over Pulte’s appointment was significant enough to influence a major intelligence policy vote. In June, Senate Democrats blocked renewal of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a key surveillance authority, in protest of his installation as acting DNI. That authority expired June 12.
On July 16, Slotkin introduced the MERIT Act—the Minimum Experience Requirements for Intelligence Transition Act—legislation requiring any individual serving as DNI, including in an acting capacity, to have extensive national security experience. “As someone who was detailed to DNI as a CIA officer, I know firsthand that the DNI should be focused on foreign threats, not used to further conspiracy theories about stolen elections,” Slotkin said.
Slotkin’s concerns center on Trump’s stated expectation that Pulte will investigate unsubstantiated claims of “rigged elections” and declassify material at his discretion. “The American people need intelligence leaders focused on defending our country, and who have experience in national security,” she said. “Whether in a temporary role or otherwise, we need serious people who won’t misuse the IC’s time, personnel and tools to relitigate elections and undermine confidence in our democracy.”
Republican senators have expressed mixed reactions. Senate Intelligence Chairman Tom Cotton of Arkansas largely defended the firings, saying ODNI is “too big and too bloated.” But Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, a retiring Republican, was sharply critical, calling Pulte “an incompetent sycophant and not the right person to lead DNI” and predicting his tenure would leave “a mess” for the eventual confirmed director, Jay Clayton.
Trump initially announced that Aaron Lukas, the principal deputy DNI—a Senate-confirmed position—would step in after Gabbard’s departure. He reversed course and installed Pulte instead, a move allowed under the Vacancies Act for up to 210 days without Senate approval. In response, Warner introduced the Do Not Interfere in our Intelligence Act on June 23, which would require the principal deputy DNI to assume the acting role in future vacancies, preventing presidents from installing unconfirmed loyalists to lead the intelligence community.
Sources
- The Hill — Warner’s bill to bar acting DNI appointments and criticism of Pulte’s appointment
- Roll Call — Senate bipartisan concerns over Pulte’s performance and firings
- Senator Elissa Slotkin’s official website — MERIT Act introduction and Pulte’s lack of national security experience
- The Guardian — Pulte’s appointment as acting DNI
- NPR — Slotkin’s concerns about Trump’s stated rationale for Pulte’s appointment
- Federal News Network — Senator Angus King’s statement on the dangers of Pulte leading intelligence agencies
