Pulte stays as acting intelligence chief amid month-long nomination dispute
The Senate Intelligence Committee’s decision to schedule the hearing breaks a month-long delay that began June 17, when Trump announced in a social media post that he was canceling Clayton’s original confirmation hearing. The delay kept acting Director Bill Pulte, who had no intelligence background, in charge of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
Clayton, who has served as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York since April 2025, had been expected to draw bipartisan support for the intelligence post. Trump said he would keep Pulte in the acting role until his personal lawyer, Jamie McDonald, is confirmed to replace Clayton as U.S. attorney, according to Trump.
Pulte has been filling the intelligence role alongside his duties as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and chairman of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. He initially was nominated by Trump for the DNI post on a permanent basis but, after pushback from critics, Trump said Pulte would serve temporarily.
While at FHFA, Pulte directed investigations into some of Trump’s political opponents and alleged mortgage fraud. Critics have expressed concern that Pulte might use the intelligence community’s authority to similarly target Trump adversaries.
The Senate Intelligence Committee’s hearing now puts the confirmation process back on track after a month of uncertainty that left the intelligence community without a Senate-confirmed leader during the expiration of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.