Key congressional intelligence leaders have yet to speak with President Donald Trump‘s new acting director of national intelligence, Bill Pulte, a striking reality as Congress races to reauthorize a key surveillance authority before a June 12 deadline.House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rick Crawford (R-AR) told the Washington Examiner on Wednesday that he has not met with Pulte and has no immediate plans to do so. “I imagine at some point in time,” Crawford told the Washington Examiner on Wednesday, for a possible face-to-face. “I’ve never met him, so I don’t know when I’ll have the opportunity to do that.”
Crawford withheld judgment on Pulte’s qualifications as the real estate mogul and social media personality faces criticism from lawmakers over his lack of national security experience. Pulte currently serves as the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and chairman of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Other members of the House and Senate intelligence committees also said they had not spoken with Pulte since Trump announced his appointment on Tuesday.
“Never met him in my life,” Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), a former FBI supervisory special agent and member of the House Intelligence Committee, told the Washington Examiner. “That’s part of the problem. I’m a career IC guy. Never met him before.”
