President Donald Trump has created a new threat to the 2026 midterms, one in which there is "little recourse" for those who could stand in his way, according to one analyst.
Michael Feinberg, MS NOW's national security analyst, revealed on a new episode of MS NOW's "Deadline: White House Weekend" with host Nicolle Wallace that Trump's decision to install Bill Pulte as the Acting Director of National Intelligence presents a potent threat to the midterm elections. He warned that Pulte has access to swaths of sensitive information that can be used to sow doubt in the election results, and possibly give Trump an avenue to rig it ahead of time.
"Bill Pulte could very welltake an actual bona fide intelligence report and declassify just enough of it to make it looklike something suspicious has happened, but notdeclassify the parts that explain why we don'tactually need to worry," Feinberg said. "And if he does that, anyone who attempts tocorrect the record by telling the public aboutwhat is actually going on is going to be violatinglaws against mishandling classified informationthe minute Bill Pulte walked into that office."
"The needle signifying danger went through theblack into the red and off the dial," he added. "Congress needs to get its act together ... and make sure thatlong before the midterms occur, Bill Pulte isnowhere near that office."
Pulte, who ran a private equity firm before joining the Trump administration, has been known as a "Trump whisperer" around the White House for his frequent communication with the president. The relationship between the two men has raised alarms for other political analysts as well.
Even if Pulte is removed from office ahead of the midterms, Feinberg noted there is another threat waiting in the wings.
"Should Jay Clayton get there, giventhat he has made completely unfounded assertionsabout the California primaries, which are not even anywhere remotelynear his jurisdiction, it doesn't really fill me withconfidence that he'll be an honest broker either," Feinberg said.