The Not-So-Shocking Reason Why Trump Picked Biggest Goon In Washington To Replace Tulsi Gabbard
Aside from a handful of terminally online MAGA supporters, pretty much everyone across the political spectrum let out a collective groan Tuesday when news broke that Bill “50-Year Mortgage” Pulte was tapped as the new acting Director of National Intelligence (DNI).
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Tulsi Gabbard, the former DNI in the Trump administration, stepped down from her position in May. She explained that her resignation was necessary to support her husband during his treatment for an “extremely rare form of bone cancer.” On Tuesday, President Trump announced her replacement: the biggest goon in Washington. (RELATED: CIA Spooks Spied On Tulsi Gabbard’s Team As It Probed Deep State, Whistleblower Alleges)
The grandson of William J. Pulte, the billionaire founder of the home construction firm PulteGroup, Pulte has no known background in intelligence, which perhaps makes him a perfect fit for the role. Pulte is the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), and will continue serving as such. As National Review’s Andy McCarthy notes, his real job at FHFA has been pretty much to sift through a database and find dirt that the Trump DOJ can use to wage fruitless lawfare campaigns against Democrats Letitia James, Lisa Cook and Adam Schiff.
Oh, it’s also been to come up with brilliant ideas to help Americans buy homes. Pulte was the Trump official behind the comically stupid idea to turn more Americans into debt slaves with the 50-year mortgage back in November 2025. He actually pitched the idea to Trump by bringing a poster board as if he were a middle schooler presenting his final term project. Pretty much everyone, right and left, dunked on the plan. The Daily Caller reported at the time that several Trump allies were annoyed that he “jumped the gun” without fully discussing the idea. (RELATED: Trump Allies Revolt Against Top Admin Official Who Gave President 50-Year Mortgage Idea)
Pulte’s other terrible idea was apparently the infamous and insulting Trump-Jesus image that kicked off a days-long news cycle and drew backlash from just about everyone, including many conservatives, amid the president’s politically suicidal spat with Pope Leo back in April. “At some point, Pulte brought the image to Trump’s attention … It’s not clear whether he just displayed the rendering on his phone or actually sent it to the president,” Axios reported at the time. (RELATED: Conservatives Blast Trump For Christ-Like Image, Losing His Mind Over Pope)
Pulte has also gotten on the wrong side of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is probably the most serious and measured cabinet member still working in the Trump administration — which isn’t saying a whole lot, frankly. Bessent had a heated confrontation with Pulte at a private dinner in 2025, during which Bessent reportedly threatened to punch Pulte “in the fucking face.” The altercation was sparked by reports given to Bessent alleging that Pulte had been speaking disparagingly about the Treasury secretary to Trump. Bessent had this to say during an exchange Wednesday with Republican North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis:
Safe to say Tillis is a “no” on confirming Pulte.
Ah, but here’s the catch, pointed out by McCarthy:
Under federal law (Section 3345 of Title 5, U.S. Code, often referred to as the Vacancies Act), if a high office requiring Senate confirmation becomes vacant, the president may fill the vacancy with an acting officer who is serving in a position that similarly required confirmation. The acting officer may serve for 210 days. Trump says that during that period, Pulte will continue running FHFA — which, not to beat a dead horse, should tell us something about the ODNI’s minimal value.
Along with the fact that he won’t have to be confirmed again by the Senate, the only reason why Trump picked Pulte is that he is a rabid loyalist who doesn’t have a single independent thought running through his brain. He’ll do what Trump tells him to do without question. Trump could smack him across the face with a giant green dildo, and Pulte would simply reply, “Thank you, Mr. President!”
As McCarthy writes, “Pulte’s main credential to serve as acting national intelligence director is a willingness to pore over government files — and now, highly classified government files — and fit them into the political narrative that Trump’s rivals must be charged with crimes.”
Sounds about right, and I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that Pulte, given his track record of stupendous gaffes, will do something incredibly stupid in his capacity as DNI (even though it is a role often described as useless) that will end up backfiring and triggering yet another negative news cycle for Trump. That is, after all, one of his best talents, second only to being a slavish and unremitting hatchet man.
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