A leading Trump official has struggled to defend the appointment of a MAGA mouthpiece with limited experience to one of the country’s top national security roles.
On Tuesday, Donald Trump announced that he had tapped housing executive Bill Pulte to replace Tulsi Gabbard as his Director of National Intelligence, elevating a leading figure in his revenge campaign to oversee America’s spy agencies.
But with Trump not having any scheduled events for the second consecutive day, it was left to his Medicare & Medicaid Services administrator Mehmet Oz to face questions about the controversial appointment.
“I think Bill is a great guy. I know him socially,” Oz said, speaking as the latest official to front the White House Briefing Room while Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is on maternity leave.
“I have not worked with him in his current job, but I do trust the president’s judgment. He (Trump) is a very sharp and quick study of people, their emotional abilities, and their ability to persevere in the face of hardship, so I have confidence in his decision.”
Pulte, 38, is the grandson of William J. Pulte, the billionaire founder of homebuilding giant PulteGroup, and a loyal attack dog for the president.
He currently serves as the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and Chairman of Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac—positions Pulte will keep as he juggles his new role as acting spy director.
The promotion comes after Gabbard announced last month that she would step down effective June 30 to care for her husband, who has been diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer.
But it was immediately viewed as controversial, partly because Pulte is such a polarizing figure with no demonstrated experience in national security or the intelligence community.
Instead, he is better known as a MAGA mouthpiece who uses his public roles to help target adversaries such as New York Attorney General Letitia James and former Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook with mortgage-fraud allegations.
Several Republican senators, including John Cornyn and Bill Cassidy, both of whom lost primary races after Trump endorsed their opponents, raised concerns on Tuesday about Pulte’s apparent lack of experience.
GOP colleagues Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins also expressed surprise at the appointment.
“I’m not familiar that there is anything in his background that would qualify [him] as one who would be the head of our national intelligence,” Murkowski said.
“I know what he has been doing in the housing sector. I’m not so familiar with why the president would have selected him.”
Oz, however, spent much of his briefing time sidestepping questions about the appointment.
At one point, the cardiothoracic surgeon was asked if he would recommend a patient to see someone who was not a heart doctor.
“You’re asking the question with the premise that Bill Pulte is not qualified,” Oz responded. “I don’t know anything about his situation. I don’t know anything about his situation.”
The former celebrity doctor is the latest senior official to fill in for Leavitt, following Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Vice President JD Vance and Treasury Scott Bessent.
Bessent is also reportedly not a fan of Pulte, with the pair at one point almost coming to blows over allegations that the housing director had been bad-mouthing Bessent to Trump.
“Why the f--- are you talking to the president about me? F--- you,” the fiery Treasury Secretary was quoted as telling Pulte during a dinner at Don Jr’s exclusive club in D.C.
“I’m gonna punch you in your f------g face.”
