Speculating on the basis for President Donald Trump's political and personnel moves is done only at one's peril. The man's mind, always a complex mix of paranoia, confidence, and confusion, is never linear, always leveraged, all in his personal favor.
Despite that reality, it is gravely important to speculate on the reasons that Trump would take on virtually the entirety of the GOP Senate Caucus to install Bill Pulte as acting Director of National Intelligence (DNI), doing so after pulling Pulte's original nomination to quell GOP outcry — in favor of the more experienced Jay Clayton.
Clayton was set to face a Senate hearing Wednesday, but Trump effectively cancelled that in favor of keeping Pulte in place as "acting DNI" — and did it in the middle of the night before the hearing.
The move may sound to some more like mundane Washington political play, but it is actually earth-shakingly unprecedented and done with such rushed recklessness as to represent something deeply nefarious — a Trump move of the type he's made before, but this one on a level that threatens nearly every move made against everything threatening Trump.
It belies Trump's fear of a possible future, while indicating a fierce willingness to fabricate facts needed to avoid the failure of collapse.
Now we're back to speculating as to what Pulte's real responsibility will entail, and doing so knowing the danger of getting lost in unnecessary specifics. The logical start is a focus on Trump's greatest fear looming on the horizon. The biggest — by far — is a wave election in which Democrats suddenly control Congress and all the inherent investigative power, picking apart the administration, act by act, deals for value-added deals, dollar for dollar, favor for favor.
And everyone already knows Trump's response to such an election: "Rigged!"
Right. Except it's tough to effectively scream rigged when states control the election process in a manner unique to each jurisdiction. If one is going to fight results added up nationally, one needs a national issue, perhaps international, and remember, Trump is the same guy who came up with a theory that Venezuela altered voting machines, and some say used Elon Musk's Starlink to "play" with the returns from precincts to state officials. Both the Venezuela and Starlink theories are untrue, but the truth never mattered less when Trump claims "rigged!"
What better way to concoct a national basis for doubting the results of a blue wave than a Director of National Intelligence, able to pick apart international attempts to alter our elections (Which do occur, largely with no success), and offer up a "basis" for the result, one that couldm— at the very least — hold up suits in court challenging the elections, or — even worse — give Trump the reason to declare the election null and void, refusing to recognize the results, even as the new members are seated and fully in control of Congress.
That the Constitution doesn't allow Trump to make such a move is a cute counterargument, worth less than a value meal at McDonald's.
Anyone thinking that such speculation is too "out there" is likely the type who doubted Trump would do anything to stop a loss in 2020. Shocking even the experts who DID predict something, Trump organized a brutal attack on the Capitol, an attempted coup that, had it happened in some poor Latin American country or former Soviet Republic, would be seen as an act of civil war within the nation — that it was so "bizarre" and foreign here in the U.S., it played more as an "inconvenience" as it failed.
One of this nation's most shameful days is now seen as a sign of strength on the hardened right — and they're ready again, awaiting only instruction.
Pulte has proven he'll play ball in whatever way Trump directs. The sum total of Pulte's work in this administration has been his aggressiveness at the FHFA, attacking Trump enemies like Letitia James, proving to Trump that Pulte is a guy “who will do what I need, no questions asked.”
To be sure, there'd be a tidal wave of "questions asked" when and if Pulte comes up with some "intelligence," throwing the entirety of 2026 results into chaos, which favors Trump and only Trump — the only "True North" in the Trump administration. The fact that such accusations would be all but laughably false couldn't matter less. Nothing about "Rigged" ever came with facts, only a need.
Of course, there is also the "smaller stuff," like the Epstein investigation, or serious reviews of Trump's financial moves. What better counter than to assert that "America's enemies" are planting information to weaken "the American president"?
But now we're back to speculating as to specifics, and that's not only nearly impossible but also nearly entirely irrelevant. Trump wants the wholly unqualified but unquestionably loyal MAGA man in charge of the nation's intelligence, and he's willing to do it over and above a near revolt by the Republican Senate Caucus.
That some reason compels this decision is as obvious as the risk. For some reason, Trump has determined that the benefit of having his man in that position outweighs the risk of a Senate revolt. Perhaps already portending a willingness to ignore Congressional chaos as little more than a nuisance, as he aggregates all power in the White House.
Watch this move — call Senators, create our own revolt. Something bad is brewing, and Trump keeps elevating the bad by the month. This one stands out, as innocuous as it may seem at first glance, with nation-shaking ramifications when examined.
It is that bad and worth your every effort.
Jason Miciak is a Rawstory Columnist, past Editor at Occupy Democrats, political consultant, attorney, and single parent girldad. Please follow on Bluesky, and he can be reached at jasonmiciak@gmail.com
