Firebrand housing chief to replace Tulsi Gabbard, is set to remain at housing finance agency
Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) head Bill Pulte has been named acting director of national intelligence by President Trump and is set to take over from the resigning Tulsi Gabbard.
In a Truth Social post, Trump confirmed that Pulte would remain in his current role as FHFA director – in which he oversees government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – alongside his new duties.
Pulte has emerged as a prominent, and polarizing, figurehead of the Trump administration’s housing agenda, overseeing sweeping board purges at Fannie and Freddie and naming himself chair of both the mortgage giants’ boards.
That overhaul also saw the dismissal of top executives at the GSEs and more than 100 other staff members, a move that led to a discrimination lawsuit against Fannie involving 66 plaintiffs and concurrent defamation suits against Pulte and Fannie chief executive officer Priscilla Almodovar.
Pulte was also reportedly a key influence behind Trump floating a 50-year mortgage, an idea that proved a divisive one amongst members of the mortgage industry. With millions of followers on X, he's frequently taken to the social media platform to champion the Trump administration's housing agenda, and last year found himself at the center of a political firestorm when he sent three criminal referrals for alleged mortgage fraud by Federal Reserve decisionmaker Lisa Cook to the Justice Department.
Prior to his appointment by Trump as FHFA head, Pulte founded Pulte Capital Partners in 2011, a private equity firm focused on building and housing products, and served on the board of PulteGroup, the Fortune 500 homebuilding company founded by his grandfather.
It’s not yet clear when Pulte will step into the intelligence role, although Gabbard’s resignation is effective June 30. Aaron Lukas, principal deputy director of national intelligence, had previously been named by Trump as acting DNI after Gabbard said she was leaving.
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