Trump says Bill Pulte is ‘less shackled’ because he has only been appointed director of national intelligence temporarily. Key US politics stories from 5 June 2026 at a glance

Trump tapped Pulte for the interim position Tuesday.

Trump repeated that Pulte would only serve as DNI in an "acting position" capacity and that he is "not going to be permanent."

Asked if Bill Pulte has the national security experience for the job, President Trump said he does because he's "smart."

The controversial pick received bipartisan pushback when Trump announced he would nominate him to the position.

Trump said Pulte would only serve in the role for a short period of time.

President Trump bragged that Bill Pulte has the power to fire a good chunk of the intel officers since he’s just “acting” director of national intelligence.

Embattled acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte won't have the job permanently, President Donald Trump told reporters Thursday.

President said he’d like to see intelligence agencies shrink as Senate blocks Fisa extension amid disquiet over nomination of Bill Pulte

President Trump's comments are sure to roil members of Congress who criticized the appointment of Bill Pulte as acting national intelligence director.

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (AP) — President Donald Trump said on Friday that he wants Bill Pulte, his new acting director of national intelligence, to cut the office, which has

Trump also suggested that Pulte’s temporary appointment could allow him to make difficult decisions more freely.

President Trump told the Wall Street Journal he may even want to terminate the Office of the Director of National Intelligence altogether.

The Republican president said in an earlier interview with The Wall Street Journal that he has asked Pulte to start the process of firing employees.

Trump said the office size has been ‘way too high for way too long’

Trump reiterated that acting Director Bill Pulte would "do a good job" and that he would watch for the size of the workforce while at ODNI.

The president wants his acting Director of National Intelligence to start firing employees, saying the office has too many staff.

"The naming of Pulte to that position, although the timing arguably wasn't the best..."

Trump says Bill Pulte is ‘less shackled’ because he has only been appointed director of national intelligence temporarily. Key US politics stories from 5 June 2026 at a glance

President Donald Trump said Friday that he wants his new acting director of national intelligence, Bill Pulte, to cut the office, which has already been significantly scaled back…

President Trump ordered acting DNI Bill Pulte to begin staff reductions at the intelligence agency, citing its size.