Senate Intelligence Vice Chair Mark Warner (D-Va.) has introduced a bill aimed at preventing presidential appointments of acting directors of national intelligence without Senate confirmation. This move targets President Trump’s choice of Bill Pulte, also head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), to lead the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) without Senate approval.
Warner’s proposed legislation, titled the Do Not Interfere in our Intelligence Act, mandates that the principal deputy director of national intelligence, a Senate-confirmed role, step in as acting head in the event of a vacancy.
“Bill Pulte may be exactly who President Trump wants running the intelligence community, but that does not make him qualified for the job… The intelligence community should be led by experienced, Senate-confirmed professionals – not by whoever happens to be most willing to carry out the president’s whims and vendettas,” Warner stated in a press release.
Concerns arise regarding Pulte’s lack of experience in national security or intelligence, worrying even some Senate Republicans. Pulte’s tenure at FHFA included referrals to the Department of Justice against Trump adversaries.
Initially, President Trump planned for former principal deputy Aaron Lukas to temporarily head the ODNI after former DNI Tulsi Gabbard stepped down. Later, he shifted to appointing Pulte on an acting basis, limited to 210 days by law. This decision faced backlash, prompting Democrats to push for Lukas’s reinstatement, threatening not to support renewal of surveillance powers.
Following unsuccessful efforts to renew foreign surveillance authorities, Trump nominated U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton for the DNI post but instructed him not to attend the Senate confirmation hearing to prevent Pulte’s acting role.
Warner’s bill suggests alternative candidates for acting DNI if deputy positions are unoccupied, including the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, or other Senate-confirmed roles within the intelligence community.