House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) sharply criticized President Trump’s decision to appoint Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence, calling the move reckless and dangerous.
Jeffries delivered his remarks to reporters at the Capitol on Tuesday, framing Pulte’s lack of security experience as a direct threat to American national security.
“The appointment of Bill Pulte as the acting director of National Intelligence is another indication of how unserious, reckless and dangerous Donald Trump and his administration are with respect to the national security of the American people,” Jeffries said.
The appointment arrives at a particularly sensitive moment, as congressional leaders from both parties are scrambling to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act before a June 12 deadline.
Section 702 of FISA grants the federal government authority to surveil foreigners living abroad without a warrant, a power that has long drawn opposition from lawmakers across party lines.
Critics of the law argue it fails to adequately protect the privacy of American citizens whose communications are inadvertently captured during the surveillance process.
Jeffries warned that Pulte’s elevation at the DNI will further complicate an already fragile bipartisan effort to secure the FISA reauthorization deal.
“Bill Pulte is deeply unserious, deeply dangerous and deeply unqualified. His supposed elevation as the acting Director of National Intelligence will jeopardize the effort to pass surveillance legislation that was already on life support,” Jeffries said.
The minority leader also questioned why any member of Congress should trust the administration with surveillance powers, asking, “Why in the world should Democrats — or any member of Congress — trust Donald Trump, Kash Patel or Bill Pulte with the privacy of the American people?”
Pulte currently serves as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and is regarded as a staunch Trump loyalist who has used that office to accuse some of the president’s political opponents of mortgage fraud.
Concern over the appointment was not limited to Democrats, with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) issuing his own caution, saying, “We don’t need a weaponized DNI, we need professionals there.”
Because Pulte’s role is acting rather than permanent, it does not require Senate confirmation, and Trump has given no indication he plans to formally nominate Pulte for the director position.
Lawmakers in both parties nonetheless raised serious questions about Pulte’s qualifications to oversee the 18 agencies that comprise the federal government’s national security infrastructure.
Jeffries delivered his sharpest assessment by arguing that Pulte’s only apparent qualification is blind loyalty, stating, “What qualifies Bill Pulte to hold one of the most important national security positions for the United States of America? One thing, apparently: That Bill Pulte is willing to say anything, or do anything, that Donald Trump demands no matter how reckless, vengeful or unlawful Donald Trump’s demand may be.”
