Trump says he wants Pulte to further slash staffing at national intelligence office

By — Michelle L. Price, Associated Press Michelle L. Price, Associated Press By — Seung Min Kim, Associated Press Seung Min Kim, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trump-says-he-wants-pulte-to-further-slash-staffing-at-national-intelligence-office Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Trump says he wants Pulte to further slash staffing at national intelligence office Politics Jun 5, 2026 9:25 PM EDT ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (AP) — President Donald Trump said Friday that he wants his new acting director of national intelligence, Bill Pulte, to cut the office, which has already been significantly scaled back during his second term. WATCH: Trump says Pulte isn't 'permanent' pick for national intelligence chief after GOP pushback Trump noted that the size of the office has been "way too high for way too long" and that "if he cut, I wouldn't mind that." "He'll do a very good job," Trump told reporters on Air Force One as he traveled to Wisconsin for an event on agriculture. "He'll watch it closely, but Bill Pulte is very good, he's very talented." Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. The Republican president said in an earlier interview with The Wall Street Journal that he has asked Pulte to start the process of firing employees. In the interview, Trump said he has already conveyed his view to Pulte, who has served as head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency but has no apparent national security expertise. "I'd like to see it smaller. I think there are a lot of people in there that shouldn't be there," Trump said, which the Journal said was in reference to intelligence community officials who had served in the Democratic administrations of Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama. Trump told the Journal that he wants Pulte to "start the process" of firing personnel and that the eventual permanent director of national intelligence should continue it. The president has indicated that he would not formally nominate Pulte for the position. "Frankly, it might be good for him to shake it up before people come," Trump said. "Because, if he (Pulte) reduced the size, in conjunction with me … and in conjunction with possibly the person coming in … he can do a lot of the hard work and we wouldn't have to saddle somebody that goes in." Pulte was tapped by the president earlier this week in a surprising move that has been met with bipartisan resistance in the Senate, which confirms presidential nominations. The temporary appointment has now snarled the renewal of a critical national security surveillance program on Capitol Hill, with Democrats key to the vote pointing out that they did not trust Pulte — whose office oversees 18 intelligence agencies — to help administer the surveillance program. Trump told reporters on Air Force One that Pulte will stay in the position depending on how long i