Trump Appoints Bill Pulte as Acting Director of National Intelligence, Directs Staff Reductions at ODNI

President Trump moved to reshape the nation's top intelligence coordinating office by naming Bill Pulte as acting Director of National Intelligence, a role vacated after Tulsi Gabbard announced her resignation May 22, citing her husband's bone cancer diagnosis, effective June 30. Pulte, who has no intelligence or national security background, currently serves as chair of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and will continue dual responsibilities across both posts.

Trump told The Wall Street Journal he has instructed Pulte to "start the process" of shrinking ODNI before a permanent nominee is confirmed, saying he wants the office to be "smaller" and pointing to holdovers from the Obama and Biden administrations as personnel he believes should not remain. "I'd like to see it smaller. I think there are a lot of people in there that shouldn't be there," Trump said. He added that Pulte's acting status offers an advantage: "You're less shackled. It sort of gives you more power, you know, for a somewhat limited period of time."

ODNI was established in 2004 following recommendations of the 9/11 Commission to improve intelligence-sharing among the nation's 18 agencies after coordination failures preceding the attacks. At the start of the second Trump administration, the office employed roughly 1,800 people; Gabbard has said she reduced that workforce by approximately 25% during her tenure. Senator Tom Cotton, chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, quickly endorsed the initiative, writing on X that "ODNI has grown far beyond its original mandate" and renewing his support for downsizing or "outright eliminating" the office. Earlier in 2026, Cotton introduced legislation that would cap ODNI staffing at 650 employees.