'One of the worst': Trump faces backlash from conservatives after naming 'nut' as DNI

Donald Trump's decision to hand the nation's intelligence apparatus to his housing regulator landed with a thud Tuesday — including among members of his own party.

Conservative commentator Erick Erickson, founder of RedState, didn't mince words about the pick. "Bill Pulte is one of the worst members of the President's team and has convinced Trump to do more stupid stuff than anyone else in the past year," Erickson wrote on X.

That sentiment has been building on Capitol Hill for months. "I think he's a nut," one House Republican told Politico last September. "The guy's just a little too big for his britches," added a second GOP lawmaker on the House Financial Services Committee.

Trump announced Tuesday on Truth Social that William J. Pulte — director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and chairman of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — would serve as acting Director of National Intelligence, replacing Tulsi Gabbard, who resigned last month after her husband was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer. Pulte will keep all three roles simultaneously.

The 38-year-old grandson of homebuilding magnate William J. Pulte has no prior intelligence or national security experience. Since taking over the FHFA in 2025, he has sent criminal referrals to the Justice Department alleging mortgage fraud against New York Attorney General Letitia James, Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA), Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, and Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) — all Trump political foes. The Government Accountability Office opened an investigation into whether he abused his authority in doing so.

Reactions beyond the right were withering. "[Pulte] has been at the forefront of using his government position to investigate the president's political enemies," Jewish Insider reporter Jacob Rubashkin wrote on X. "Now he'll head up the nation's intelligence apparatus."

Stan Soloway, a former deputy undersecretary of defense, put it plainly: "Does Trump know that building a strong intel infrastructure is not about buildings?"

Punchbowl News founder Jake Sherman noted the obvious: Pulte "has never served in an intelligence role." Politico congressional reporter Kyle Cheney called the dual-hatting arrangement perhaps "the weirdest part" — treating the DNI job as part-time.