ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE — President Trump says he’s conducting five interviews before he selects someone to permanently fill the director of national intelligence job in the wake of Tulsi Gabbard’s resignation.
Mr. Trump also said he would like his acting DNI, William J. Pulte, to trim staff.
“We’ll have a very good person watching things, Bill Pulte,” Mr. Trump said Friday en route to Wisconsin. “If he cut, I wouldn’t mind that.”
Mr. Pulte is the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. His background is in investment and real estate, making him an unusual choice for the intelligence job.
Some lawmakers, including Republicans, say Mr. Pulte is not the right fit for a job overseeing national secrets, so he would have a hard time getting Senate-confirmed for the permanent role.
But the president said Mr. Pulte is qualified to serve in the acting role after reforming the housing finance agency.
“He’ll do a very good job. He’ll watch [the agency], mostly,” Mr. Trump said. “Did a great job at Freddie Mae and Freddie Mac.”
Mr. Trump will be selecting the permanent DNI after Ms. Gabbard cited her husband’s battle with cancer for stepping down.
Mr. Trump said the five candidates for the permanent job are “all very good, all people that you know very well.”
He said they’re “all people that do that kind of thing, and they’re very respected people.”
While Mr. Trump weighs his choices, Sen. Tom Cotton, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said he supports efforts to trim payroll at the DNI office.
“President Trump is right: the ODNI has grown far beyond its original mandate,” the Arkansas senator said on X. “I’ve long advocated for downsizing, if not outright eliminating, this bureaucracy. Time to return these officers back to their home agencies to focus on actual intelligence work.”
Mr. Trump on Friday also criticized Sen. Thom Tillis, North Carolina Republican, for saying he would oppose acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s nomination to the permanent position unless Mr. Blanche condemns the Capitol attackers of Jan. 6, 2021.
“Senator Tillis is a loser, stone cold. And he’s an angry man. … He was forced to leave the Senate because I wouldn’t support him, and he quit,” Mr. Trump said, referring to Mr. Tillis’ decision not to seek reelection. “So now he’s trying to make trouble by opposing anybody. Todd Blanche is a brilliant guy who everybody likes and everybody respects.”
