All posts tagged "bill pulte"

Outgoing Trump spy chief brags about firings that ex-officials call bogus: NYT

The outgoing director of national intelligence spent his last days on the job bragging about unproven firings, per the New York Times.

Bill Pulte, the acting director of national intelligence, is expected to be replaced on Tuesday by Jay Clayton after a short-lived stint as President Donald Trump's spy chief. During his last days and hours on the job, Pulte bragged that he reduced staff at the office of the director of national intelligence (ODNI), a claim ex-officials doubt, according to reporting by the Times.

The Times noted a "flurry of social media posts" by Pulte. In a Tuesday post on X, he wrote, "We are, this morning, Executing a 5th and near final round of Terminations, an approximately 30 percent Staff Reduction from Weeks ago."

However, Pulte's office provided "no details" about the firings, the Times noted. Several former U.S. intelligence officials told the Times that they don't believe his claims of a reduction.

"The acting DNI has been quick to announce firings and make public claims about them, but has so far declined to provide the Senate Intelligence Committee with the information necessary to assess the accuracy of those statements or the basis for those decisions," Rachel Cohen, a spokesperson for Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), told the Times. Warner is the top Democrat on the committee.

Other former officials told the Times that Pulte was counting people who completed their tour of duty at the ODNI and were returning to their home agencies as planned. He also appeared to have been counting unfilled positions at the National Counterterrorism Center and other parts of the ODNI as part of the terminations, per the Times.

Ex-insider warns of 'dictatorial dementia' as Trump copes with his 'impending mortality'

A GOP analyst and former White House insider revealed that as President Donald Trump has shown signs of "dictatorial dementia," energetic "young henchmen" around him are in a hurry to reshape the government — even rushing to conduct mass firings.

Bill Kristol, the editor at large for The Bulwark and a former chief of staff to Vice President Dan Quayle, described how 80-year-old Trump has surrounded himself with young men. Acting director of national intelligence Bill Pulte is 38 years old, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller is 40, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin and FBI Director Kash Patel are all 46 years old. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is 51, and Office of Management and Budget Russell Vought is 50.

"A sense of impending mortality seems to be making our president even more unhinged than ever," Kristol wrote.

Kristol described how Trump might not have "the patience to carry out a thoroughgoing subversion of the rule of law, of our political and civil liberties, or of our elections," or the ability to enact a full authoritarian takeover.

"On the other hand, there’s no doubt he would like to see such a takeover," Kristol wrote.

"And he does have young men with a lean and hungry look in positions of authority and power in the executive branch who are committed to making his dream of power without limits a reality," Kristol wrote.

These men have something in common, Kristol explained.

"They’re young, but they’re as determined as the old man they work for not to hand their positions over to anyone other than fellow loyalists after their terms in office, if they intend to leave office at all," Kristol wrote. "They’re as determined as the old man they work for not to step aside from their powers and allow political opponents to look into what they have done. And like the old man they work for, they aren’t committed to the peaceful and democratic transfer of power after an election, or to the political norms or lawful procedures of a liberal democracy."

"None of these men should be in a position of power and authority in the government of the United States," Kristol added. "Yet here they are, hiring and firing at will, abusing their authority and politicizing their agencies in unprecedented ways."

Expert shares sobering warning as Trump allows key spy tool to expire: 'Wake up'

A national security expert flagged the impact of one of President Donald Trump's moves that effectively allowed a key U.S. spy tool to expire.

During an appearance on CNN, Leon Panetta, the former CIA director under former President Barack Obama and White House chief of staff during the Clinton administration, expressed concern about the expiration of a key part of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

House lawmakers refused to reauthorize Section 702 of FISA earlier this month in response to Trump's pick for acting director of national intelligence, Bill Pulte. When Trump refused to drop Pulte, FISA lapsed, and Panetta explained what losing FISA means for national security.

"You want to create a vulnerability in terms of our national security? Prevent FISA from taking effect," Panetta said. "Because what that does is it allows terrorists to be able to communicate in this country."

FISA provides the U.S. with the "ability to basically capture that kind of communication so that we know what terrorists are up to and what threats our country is facing," Panetta added.

"With FISA shut down right now, without question, this country is very vulnerable to some kind of terrorist attack," Panetta said. "People have got to wake up. The president's got to wake up."

Panetta said that he understands "the political games that go on sometimes," but "at this moment, our national security is what is most important to the president, to the country and to Congress."

Republicans flummoxed by Trump 'throwing a grenade' into latest nomination fight

President Donald Trump's order to halt the nomination process for director of national intelligence sent Republican lawmakers scrambling on Wednesday, according to CNN.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) announced just an hour before Jay Clayton, Trump's pick for the job, was set to testify before the Senate confirmation hearing that it was being postponed after the president told Clayton not to show up, CNN anchor Brianna Keilar reported.

"The president is accusing lawmakers of moving too fast to confirm Clayton, and he's vowing to hold up a critical spying measure, FISA reauthorization, unless a separate voter ID measure, separate and unrelated, by the way, is attached to it," Keilar explained.

CNN congressional correspondent Lauren Fox described the whiplash among the GOP leaders.

"A lot of frustration from some Senate Republicans up here on Capitol Hill, in part because they really believe that they were on a fast track to approving Jay Clayton to be the next DNI at a moment where many Republicans, as well as Democrats, were worried about Bill Pulte, who Trump had selected to be his acting DNI, stepping into that role," Fox said.

"So right now, Republicans are a little bit flummoxed because they believe that they had been working in good faith with Democrats," Fox said.

"They had been getting signals that Democrats were willing to try to move this nomination as expeditiously as possible," Fox said. "And then you just had Donald Trump, as one member put it, throwing a grenade into this entire process by saying on Truth Social in the wee hours of the morning, while many senators were sleeping, that he did not believe that Jay Clayton's nomination should go forward today before the Senate Intelligence Committee a couple hours later, you had Senator Tom Cotton, who is the top Republican on that committee, making clear that he wanted to continue having this hearing unless he got word that Donald Trump didn't want Clayton coming before the committee later today. Well, clearly he got that word because a couple hours later, Cotton made clear that he was disappointed, but that they were going to be postponing this confirmation hearing."

Trump was pushing the demands forward for a key reason, Fox explained.

"Those two things are unrelated, and I would just point out that there isn't support, even among Republicans in the Senate, for that voter ID law on its own," Fox added. "It would need 60 votes in the Senate. It doesn't even have enough Republican support to get a majority of the vote. So a lot of Republicans are just shaking their head right now, feeling like they were on a fast track to getting Jay Clayton to serve as DNI, someone who's popular, someone who a lot of Republicans have worked with in the past. Now they are basically starting back at zero."

Susie Wiles 'on her last leg' amid White House turmoil: political experts

Susie Wiles is running out of patience with Trump amid mounting White House turmoil, a couple of political experts said.

Dean Blundell, a Canadian political commentator, detailed what insiders had told him about the Trump White House Chief of Staff during an interview with ex-GOP operative Steve Schmidt. Wiles was rumored to be looking for the exit, but she and other White House officials shot down the claim, which came from a Daily Mail report based on insider insight.

"Susie Wiles is on her last leg," Blundell said, sharing what sources told him. "She just doesn't want to be associated with this stuff anymore."

The Daily Mail reported that Wiles was mostly upset about the appointment of Bill Pulte as the acting Director of National Intelligence. Blundell said that it's telling for her to be "this disgusted by his pick for DNI," and suggested that her frustrations went beyond that.

"You don't have to look too far for the damage that this family is doing, not just in the United States, but also in Albania," Blundell said, referring to the protests over Ivanka Trump's planned resort.

Schmidt gave his two cents, saying, "If you held a gun to my head and make me guess what happened here, I would say that Susie Wiles probably threatened to quit."

Dead Air: Happy birthday, loser with Steve Schmidt & Dean Blundell by Steve Schmidt

Read on Substack

Knives come out as furious GOP insiders go scorched earth on a 'White House gone rogue'

A furious GOP Senate aide fired off at Trump for ignoring the issues that matter ahead of the midterms, the conservative Daily Mail reported Friday.

"People are p— the f— off that prices are too high and things are too expensive," a senior GOP aide told the Mail. "I'm just not sure the president really cares or if he's really in tune with what's going on on Capitol Hill."

The aide's concerns came as the November midterms approach, which could cost the GOP Senate its majority. The Daily Mail noted recent controversial moves by Trump, like the appointment of Bill Pulte as acting Director of National Intelligence, his UFC cage match on the White House lawn, and the creation of his anti-weaponization fund.

"Between the Pulte nominations and anti-weaponization fund, the White House has definitely gone rogue and instead pushed priorities without talking to Congressional leadership," another senior GOP aide told The Daily Mail, bringing up that Trump hasn't even seemed to consult Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD).

"We're begging the White House to focus on issues to help Republicans in the midterms," the second aide continued. "But it feels like it's falling on deaf ears."

A third senior GOP congressional aide agreed, saying, "The president's fiery public demands of Congress often seem disconnected from his staff's more deferential posture when dealing with GOP leadership and moderates," The Mail reported.

The congressional aide also complained about "wild swings in who gets thrown under the bus week by week," according to the Mail.

A senior GOP House aide put some of the blame on Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) for hurting House Republicans by defending Trump.

"Speaker Johnson has relied so heavily on Trump to lead the conference and clean up his messes that it's no wonder Trump has taken more of an active role in dictating what he wants to see from Congress," the House aide told The Mail. "Is it good for the institution? Not really, but Speaker Johnson is the one to blame for weakening the speakership."

A fourth Senate GOP aide concluded, "If our coalition falls apart, we will not be able to advance the president's priorities."

Trump snubs Bill Pulte for permanent DNI — and selects new pick with his own baggage

President Donald Trump announced his nominee to be the next director of national intelligence on Thursday, snubbing Bill Pulte, who had been placed in the position as the acting director.

Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that he was nominating "highly respected Jay Clayton, former Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the former Head of Sullivan & Cromwell, one of the most prominent and successful Law Firms anywhere in the World, and the current United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, to be the next Director of National Intelligence and, importantly, to serve in my Cabinet."

"Few people anywhere in the Legal Community are respected at the level of Jay. I encourage the United States Senate to confirm Jay as soon as possible," Trump wrote.

Former Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard reportedly received a call from Pulte, the Federal Housing Finance Agency director, essentially telling her Trump was firing her. The move came as a shock to Gabbard.

Trump's decision to place Pulte in the temporary role has led to criticism, even among conservatives, as Pulte has no experience in national security and a track record of abusing his office to go after the president's political enemies.

Clayton has defended Trump's $1.8 billion slush fund and has raised unfounded fraud concerns around the California elections. He has also said that Trump was wronged in criminal prosecutions against him.

Bill Pulte's family entangled with shadowy Christian group backing Trump allies: report

For more than two generations, Bill Pulte's family has had close ties with a covert Christian group that has backed allies of President Donald Trump and other conservatives, according to a report on Tuesday.

The acting national intelligence director's grandfather and father have been closely involved with a group known as The Family, or The Fellowship, which organizes the National Prayer Breakfast and a C Street congressional residence on Capitol Hill. These are "leaders and financial backers of a secretive Christian organization that conducts shadow diplomacy around the world, according to public records and documents I obtained," wrote Jonathan Larsen in a Substack post, which was republished by Salon.

"Pulte’s grandfather, at one point one of the wealthiest men in the world, built a Fortune 500 company and gave tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars to charity before his 2018 death," Larsen wrote. "He was also friends with Doug Coe, died in 2017 after decades leading the secretive, controversial Fellowship Foundation that built and sustained a global right-wing network including dictators, lobbyists, and corrupt millionaires largely united against labor, LGBTQ+ and reproductive rights."

Pulte's exact connection to The Fellowship remains unclear. It's said he was close to his grandfather, his namesake, who was a longtime friend of Coe's, Larsen wrote. Pulte's father has continued to fund religious charities connected to The Fellowship.

"If Pulte is personally connected to The Fellowship, he’d hardly be alone in the administration’s upper ranks," Larsen wrote.

"Secretary of State Marco Rubio used to live at the C Street townhouse, as did Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.). President Donald Trump’s special envoy to the United Kingdom, former 'Apprentice' producer Mark Burnett, is a regular at The Fellowship’s National Prayer Breakfast," Larsen explained.

"But the ties extend beyond overlapping at religious charities in the orbits of Michigan philanthropists. Pulte had a significant personal relationship with Coe, who hobnobbed with presidents of both parties and leaders of nations around the world," Larsen wrote.

And that's not the only connection the Pulte family has to top political families — or the Trump family.

Pulte's father also played a role in Trump's bidding war against Epstein for a Palm Beach property, which was noted by Substacker Greg Conners.

"The notorious bidding war for a Palm Beach estate between Trump and Jeffrey Epstein involved a third party. It was Mark Pulte, who veered off from the Pulte home-building business to focus on luxury properties. As Conners notes, Pulte, father of Trump’s appointee, outbid Epstein and was the one who actually bid up the price Trump ended up paying," Larsen added.

Susie Wiles expected to quit as Trump's chief of staff after stinging 'insult': report

Trump's Chief of Staff Susie Wiles will soon quit her high-level White House post, insiders told the Daily Mail.

Wiles is preparing to quit because she was "vehemently" opposed to the promotion of Bill Pulte from the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency to the role of acting Director of National Intelligence, three White House insiders told the Daily Mail.

She perceived it as an "insult" when Trump followed through on the Pulte promotion, and Trump had already been starting to "resent" her opposition, the Mail reported.

"She is loyal to Trump, but he is now basically saying, 'Look, Ma, you are not the boss of me,'" an insider told the Mail.

She's plotting an exit strategy as she's also dealing with health problems, according to the Mail.

"She is getting cancer treatment and is completely drained," a White House insider told the Mail. "Now Trump is taking more and more control of the White House."

According to the Mail, Wiles is expected to use the midterms as an off-ramp and could leave the White House soon after the November elections.

Wiles has been working with Trump since his first campaign in 2016 and has held the chief of staff role since his reelection, the Mail noted.

Trump arrives late and unhappy to Wisconsin event — and CNN reporter reveals why

A CNN reporter pointed out that President Donald Trump seemed displeased ahead of his event Friday night in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

Jeff Zeleny, CNN's chief national affairs correspondent, was traveling with the president and other reporters and commented that Trump was not too thrilled as he headed to the Midwest battleground state to discuss his economic agenda among struggling farmers and the agriculture community.

Trump was slated to speak at a roundtable at 4 p.m. ET, but was late to take the stage, Zeleny explained.

"There is no doubt the president is a bit delayed here," Zeleny said. "He's been doing an interview, we're told, with NBC News on "Meet the Press." He came out and delivered some familiar criticism of the press. We will see what else he says during this. He does not seem to be in a very good mood, but at this point, we should point out so much criticism is coming from Republicans about the qualifications of Bill Pulte."

Both Republicans and Democrats had expressed concern over Trump's naming of Pulte as the new acting head of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Pulte, who does not have any known national security experience, was reportedly planning to execute sweeping personnel cuts across the nation's 18 federal intelligence agencies and units before a permanent successor is confirmed.