Senate Majority Leader John Thune on Tuesday appeared skeptical of President Donald Trump’s selection of Bill Pulte to lead the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) on an acting basis.Trump tapped Pulte, who has led the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to take over for the outgoing Tulsi Gabbard, who announced she would step down at the end of the month due to her husband’s cancer diagnosis. Pulte has never held an intelligence role.
Thune faced questions from reporters about the pick on Tuesday, which saw him suggest a confirmation battle could prove difficult for Pulte, The Hill reported. When pressed on concerns that Trump’s pick could politicize the ODNI, Thune merely said “we don’t need a weaponized DNI. We need professionals there.”
Pulte was a leading figure in advancing several criminal referrals against Trump adversaries related to alleged mortgage fraud in what critics have called political prosecutions. He was also the proponent of a much-maligned 50-year mortgage proposal.
Thune, for his part, remained reserved about the prospect of Senate confirmation.
“I’ll try and get more information about the current state of their thinking about that position. If he’s somebody they want in that position permanently, he’s got a lengthy road ahead of him,” he said.
Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent for Just the News. Follow him on X.
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