President Donald Trump tapped Bill Pulte to be the next acting director of national intelligence on Tuesday, replacing Tulsi Gabbard with the current director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and chairman of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Pulte, the latest White House official to wear multiple leadership hats, has been the face of several hot-topic news items coming out of the Trump administration. He had pushed a 50-year mortgage proposal and had recommended mortgage fraud investigations into several of Trump’s perceived political enemies.
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TRUMP APPOINTS BILL PULTE TO BE ACTING DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE
The businessman-turned-Trump administration official will now take on the acting role leading the U.S. intelligence community after Gabbard left her role on May 22. Trump wrote in his leadership transition announcement that Pulte “has deep experience managing the most sensitive matters in America, the safety and soundness of the Markets, and over 10 Trillion Dollars at Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac.”
Here’s what to know about Pulte as he transitions into the national intelligence community while maintaining his role at the FHFA:
Real estate mogul turned Trump administration official
Before Trump nominated him to lead the FHFA in January 2025, Pulte worked in real estate and private equity investment.
The grandson of William J. Pulte, the founder of the Fortune 500 company PulteGroup, Pulte previously served on the board of the homebuilding company and has grown his career around real estate development and investment.
Pulte founded Pulte Capital Partners, a private equity firm, in 2011. The investment firm is separate and independent from PulteGroup and invests in projects in the housing construction and building products industries.
The FHFA official and new ODNI chief also has experience in philanthropy, famously giving large cash donations through X. He also founded a project called the Blight Authority, which cleans up debris and dilapidated structures in American communities looking to revamp neighborhoods.
Pulte does not have any known national intelligence leadership experience. He earned his undergraduate degree in broadcast journalism from Northwestern University.
Tenure at the helm of the FHFA, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac
While serving as acting director of national intelligence, Pulte will maintain his role as head of the FHFA and as the leader of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two government-sponsored enterprises that help stabilize U.S. mortgages.
Under Pulte’s leadership, the FHFA appointed him as chairman of the mortgage giants in March 2025, as the agency ushered in new leadership to run the enterprises, which Trump had also pondered privatizing.
Pulte also championed the idea of a 50-year mortgage to help first-time homeowners. Many potential buyers have been priced out of the market in recent years, and 30-year mortgage rates have remained prohibitive for some, rising since the war in Iran.
As of Tuesday, the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has risen to 6.6%, according to Mortgage News Daily, which tracks rates daily. That is up from around 6% before the start of the conflict.
The idea has failed to gain much traction, though, and in January, Pulte appeared to back away from it.
“I think we have other priorities,” Pulte told reporters.
Trump’s attack dog
In many respects, Pulte has been viewed as one of the Trump administration’s biggest hatchet men. He repeatedly used his platform to rail against former Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and other opponents of the president.
Pulte’s role leading FHFA typically gets little media attention, but Pulte, who has cultivated a massive following on X over the years, has drawn notice for his willingness to attack Trump’s rivals. As of Tuesday, he had nearly 3 million followers on the platform.
In addition to Powell, the FHFA director has also targeted some other high-profile Trump critics, most notably Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and New York Attorney General Letitia James (D).
Last year, Pulte repeatedly called for Powell to resign as Fed chairman.
“Jerome Powell should RESIGN,” he said in a post.
“I hear Jerome Powell has hired a crisis PR firm,” he wrote in another message.
Also, last year, he referred James to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution for alleged mortgage fraud. A federal judge later dismissed an indictment.
TOP HOUSING REGULATOR BILL PULTE EMERGES AS TRUMP’S BIGGEST ATTACK DOG
Pulte has also accused Fed Governor Lisa Cook of mortgage fraud, prompting Trump to fire her and the Justice Department to open an investigation into the allegations. The legality of her firing is currently being weighed by the Supreme Court.
Schiff, a major figure in Trump’s first impeachment trial, has also been targeted by Pulte with accusations of fraud and is being investigated by the DOJ.
