President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) has no known national security experience. But the selected person, Bill Pulte, does have a history of going after Trump’s rivals. It is a combination that is raising alarms in Congress.The 38-year-old Pulte is an “unusual selection” to be the interim intelligence chief following Tulsi Gabbard’s resignation, said The Hill. Before leading the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) under Trump, he owned a construction company and private equity firm, and he has “no high-level national security experience.” Pulte at FHFA “proved his loyalty to the president by combing through the mortgages of Trump’s enemies,” said Talking Points Memo. Pulte’s inquiries led to federal mortgage-fraud cases against New York Attorney General Letitia James and Fed Governor Lisa Cook. Pulte has “deep experience managing the most sensitive matters in America,” Trump said, per The Hill. But the president’s GOP allies are concerned. “We don’t need a weaponized DNI,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said to reporters, per Axios.
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