President Donald Trump left analysts stunned on Wednesday after dropping what Punchbowl News described as a “bombshell,” with critics suspecting the announcement was tied to the president’s false claims of election fraud.
After facing unprecedented bipartisan backlash, Trump backed off his controversial nomination of Bill Pulte for Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and instead nominated Jay Clayton for the role, whose confirmation hearing was expected to take place on Wednesday. In an early morning post on Truth Social, however, Trump announced he was “cancelling” that hearing – despite having no authority to do so – and that Pulte would remain as the acting DNI.
“He wants Pulte in there for a specific reason at this specific moment and the Senate GOP just created the unforced error giving him that option,” reads a statement from the polling firm Rasmussen Reports published on social media Wednesday. “The reason we suspect is related to the theft of the 2020 election but we will all soon see.”
Pulte currently helms the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and despite having no intelligence or national security experience, was tapped by Trump to replace outgoing DNI Tulsi Gabbard. Pulte has faced scrutiny for targeting Trump’s perceived political enemies with accusations of mortgage fraud.
Geoff McGivern, a British actor, argued that Trump’s motivations for keeping Pulte as acting DNI were clear.
“It's worth pausing and reading this illiterate drivel with a fresh eye and marveling anew that a conman could hold this office and be so openly [planning] to steal/rig/annul elections to prevent the impeachments and legal action which would, if run fairly, follow his defeat,” McGivern wrote in a social media post on X.
The President has no authority to cancel Senate hearings. I suppose he could tell Clayton not to show, but I’ll be curious to hear what Intel chair Cotton & Vice Chair Warner say about this. https://t.co/8Bkm0DA72U
— Garrett Haake (@GarrettHaake) June 17, 2026