Donald Trump’s acting director of national intelligence is reportedly lobbying the president to let him stay in the job—even after the Senate confirmed his replacement.
Bill Pulte, the billionaire homebuilding heir who was tapped in May despite having no intelligence or national security background, is urging Trump to delay the swearing in of newly confirmed intelligence chief Jay Clayton, according to Politico’s Playbook.
Pulte, 38, the grandson of billionaire William J. Pulte, was elevated to the role after intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard stepped down, citing her husband’s cancer diagnosis. His surprise appointment bypassed Gabbard’s deputy, Aaron Lukas, and drew criticism from both intelligence officials and some Republicans.
His nomination also complicated GOP efforts to renew Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, with lawmakers expressing concern about placing sweeping surveillance powers in the hands of someone without traditional intelligence experience.
Among the skeptics was Sen. Kevin Cramer, an early Trump ally, who called the appointment “a funny pick.”
“I think it’s a funny pick, to say the least. It seems like a funny pick. It’s interim for now, I guess—we’ll see. But I think it’s an odd pick,” the North Dakota Republican said in early June.
Pulte’s time in the role now appears to be nearing an end after the Senate confirmed Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, as director of national intelligence on Tuesday.
Announcing the appointment on Truth Social, Trump praised Clayton, writing: “Jay is outstanding in every way, and will do a spectacular job as Director!”
But according to a White House official quoted by Playbook, Pulte is trying to persuade Trump to postpone the transition.
Pulte, who has served as the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the chairman of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac since 2025, is asking Trump “to delay Clayton’s swearing-in, or at least trying to stay in the job longer,” a White House official told Playbook.
The official said Pulte is arguing that he needs more time to complete unfinished work, telling the president: “He’s doing things nobody else will do, and that’s why he needs to stay in the job longer.”
The effort has reportedly found little support inside the administration. The same official said colleagues “definitely do not want” Pulte to remain at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, adding: “That’s the deal that we made with the Hill. We want to honor that.”
Even so, multiple people close to the White House told Playbook that Trump and Pulte remain close.
“The president really loves him,” one official said, raising the possibility that Pulte could land another Cabinet-level role in the future.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
Pulte is expected to continue leading the Federal Housing Finance Agency, where he has sparked controversy by pursuing mortgage fraud allegations against several prominent Trump critics, including New York state Attorney General Letitia James, Sen. Adam Schiff, and Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook.
He also was reportedly the first person to show Trump an AI-generated image portraying the president as Jesus Christ, which Trump later shared publicly.
