President Trump's decision to nominate Bill Pulte as director of national intelligence caught many of his closest advisors off guard and dealt a significant blow to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, with whom the Federal Housing Finance Agency head has engaged in an ongoing power struggle.
According to reporting from the Wall Street Journal, Pulte, who leads the agency overseeing the country's mortgage market, personally approached Trump with an audacious proposal: ascending to the position of director of national intelligence following Tulsi Gabbard's departure.
The nomination appears rooted not in foreign policy expertise—Pulte has none—but in what Trump prizes most: unwavering loyalty, the Journal is reporting before adding that, in pitching himself to the president, Pulte promised to become an "unyielding advocate" for Trump's foreign policy agenda and signaled support for the administration's Iran war, according to sources familiar with the conversations.
The move represents a major victory for Pulte in his internal administration battles. The Federal Housing Finance Agency director has become a deeply polarizing figure, clashing repeatedly with Trump advisers who have grown frustrated with his aggressive approach and willingness to bypass the chain of command to access the president directly.
Trump has reportedly resisted efforts by administration officials to remove Pulte, telling confidants he values the FHFA chief's loyalty above all else.
Trump "first raised the idea of appointing Pulte as intelligence director to aides over the weekend, according to a person familiar with the matter," the Journal is reporting before adding that the fact that president actually pulled the trigger on Pulte's nomination, "caught them by surprise."
As for Bessent, one of the president's closest allies in the Cabinet, he was reportedly kept out of the loop, the Journal is reporting.
Tensions between the Treasury secretary and Pulte reached a boiling point last year when Bessent threatened to punch Trump's housing chief "in the f------ face" after learning that Pulte had been disparaging him to the president, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Treasury Department officials, including Bessent, learned of Trump's decision through social media like everyone else. An adviser broke the news to Bessent while he was preparing for a congressional hearing—a humiliating notification for one of the administration's senior economic officials, the report notes.
