Trump presses on with plan to install Bill Pulte as acting intelligence chief

Bill Pulte holds an umbrella at the White House in January. Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters View image in fullscreen Bill Pulte holds an umbrella at the White House in January. Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters Trump presses on with plan to install Bill Pulte as acting intelligence chief Lawmakers warn appointment of presidential loyalist will scuttle bipartisan agreement to renew Fisa surveillance law Donald Trump is pushing ahead with his controversial plan to install political loyalist Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence, a move that has sparked bipartisan congressional backlash and imperiled the reauthorization of a powerful surveillance law set to expire at the end of this week. Trump’s Tuesday evening announcement came after he met earlier in the day with the House speaker, Mike Johnson, to discuss Pulte’s elevation to the role, which has prompted widespread concern over his complete lack of national security experience and the prospect that he could use the office’s spying powers to continue his campaign of targeting Trump’s perceived political enemies. Trump meets Johnson as outcry over Bill Pulte threatens Fisa renewal Read more Writing on social media, Trump said Pulte was already working with the outgoing director, Tulsi Gabbard, and will take her place on 19 June, while remaining head of the federal mortgage agency. Gabbard, a former congresswoman who served in the military and then on a House subcommittee with oversight of military intelligence, had announced in her resignation letter that she would step down on 30 June. Trump offered no explanation for Pulte taking over before that date, but the president has suggested in public comments that he expects his political ally to investigate elections that he has falsely claimed were “ rigged ” once he is installed as the country’s top intelligence officer. While Trump has insisted Pulte would only serve in the role for a “ short period ”, many Senate Republicans are urging the White House to name a full-time nominee who can be confirmed by the chamber. Elevating Pulte to the post on an acting basis avoids a contentious confirmation process. Democratic lawmakers immediately said the appointment of Pulte would scuttle a bipartisan agreement to renew section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which is due to expire on Friday. The powerful intelligence tool has long attracted controversy, since the program targets foreign nationals whose messages may pass through US servers or involve US contacts, meaning a wide array of domestic communications can be swept up without a warrant ever being sought. The FBI in 2020 was discovered using section 702 to investigate whether protesters involved with Black Lives Matter had any ties to terrorists, according to a declassified memo released by the office of the director of national intelligence in 2023, a seat that would soon be filled by Pulte. Hakeem Jeffries, the House Democratic leader, said on Tuesday that if