2026年6月8日 美国东部时间7:39 / 福克斯新闻频道
前联邦调查局特工、国会众议员布莱恩·菲茨帕特里克及前参议院领袖米奇·麦康奈尔等人反对此次任命
作者：摩根·菲利普斯 福克斯新闻
福克斯新闻资深白宫记者杰基·海因里希在《特别报道》节目中带来特朗普总统任命联邦住房金融局局长威廉·“比尔”·普尔特尔的最新动态。
唐纳德·特朗普总统提名联邦住房金融局局长比尔·普尔特尔担任国家情报总监代理一职，将一名住房金融监管者、前社交媒体慈善人士提拔至美国政府最敏感的国家安全岗位之一。
入职政府前，普尔特尔最为人熟知的身份是住宅建筑巨头普尔特尔集团创始人的孙子，以及通过社交媒体慈善活动积累大量追随者的人士——这些活动在线上向粉丝分发资金。在特朗普提名他领导负责监管房利美和房地美的联邦住房金融局之前，他已成为保守派社交媒体圈子里的知名人物。
特朗普在Truth Social的一篇帖子中宣布了这一任命，称赞普尔特尔对住房金融体系的领导能力，以及他处理“美国最敏感事务”的经验。
白宫拒绝向福克斯新闻数字频道透露特朗普是否考虑让普尔特尔永久担任该职位。但上周五特朗普接受《华尔街日报》采访时，外界对普尔特尔的预期变得更加明确，他表示希望这位代理情报负责人开始精简国家情报总监办公室的规模。
特朗普任命比尔·普尔特尔为国家情报代理总监
“我希望该机构能缩小规模。我认为里面有很多人不该待在那里，”特朗普告诉该报，并称该机构“不必要且/或规模过大”。当被问及是否希望普尔特尔解雇员工时，特朗普表示，他希望普尔特尔“启动这一程序”。
参议院情报委员会主席、阿肯色州共和党人汤姆·科顿迅速支持这一举措，称国家情报总监办公室的扩张程度远超国会在9·11事件后设立该机构时设想的使命。
“特朗普总统说得对：国家情报总监办公室的发展早已超出其最初的职权范围，”科顿在X平台上写道。“长期以来，我一直主张精简该官僚机构，若能彻底取消则更好。”
这一任命立即引发议员和前官员的反对，他们认为普尔特尔缺乏担任该职位所需的经验。
但特朗普的盟友们——其中许多人多年来一直在抨击他们认为旨在破坏特朗普的情报“深层国家”——坚称普尔特尔会忠实执行总统的议程。
“我想说，目前情报机构内部仍存在激烈的派系斗争，”佛罗里达州共和党众议员安娜·保利娜·卢纳说。“这些情报岗位的关键之一在于，你需要一个不会阻挠解密令，而是协助寻找文件的人，而比尔会做到这一点。”
特朗普大幅削减国安会人员引发争议：打击“深层国家”是否会危及国家安全？
“比尔·普尔特尔是一位伟大的美国人和爱国者，他将永远为特朗普总统及其议程而战，”白宫通讯主任史蒂文·张在X平台上写道。“如今是我国的重要时刻，比尔拥有在新岗位上成就伟业所需的精力和专注力。”
此次任命正值特朗普与即将离任的情报总监图尔西·加巴德之间出现公开摩擦之际，加巴德将于6月30日卸任。
加巴德上任时曾批评情报机构，但她认为伊朗并未在制造核武器的评估，与政府针对德黑兰采取军事行动的计划产生了分歧。特朗普公开驳斥了她的评估，称“我不在乎她说了什么”，随后还宣称她“错了”。
特朗普及其盟友均未通过提及任何情报或国家安全经验来为普尔特尔的任命辩护。相反，支持者们强调了他的管理经验、挑战官僚体系的意愿，以及推进政府优先事项的承诺。
白宫再次拒绝向福克斯新闻数字频道透露特朗普是否考虑让普尔特尔永久担任该职位。这一区别可能意义重大，因为代理官员在临时任职期间可行使经参议院确认的正式官员的大部分职权。
“获得参议院确认的职位中，极少有法定任职资格要求。国家情报总监职位就是其中之一，这是有充分理由的，”前参议院共和党领袖米奇·麦康奈尔在一份声明中表示。
“任何承担如此重大公众信任职责的人，都必须具备法律规定的广泛国家安全经验，任何达不到这一要求的提名人都不会获得我的投票，”麦康奈尔补充道。
参议院情报委员会副主席、弗吉尼亚州民主党人马克·华纳同样认为，普尔特尔缺乏该职位所需的资质。
“令人担忧的不仅是普尔特尔先生缺乏法律规定的‘广泛国家安全经验’，”华纳说。“更令人担忧的是，白宫似乎正是因为相信他会按照自己想要的叙事行事，而非提供我们所需的情报，才选择了他。”
宾夕法尼亚州共和党众议员布莱恩·菲茨帕特里克是前联邦调查局特工，现任众议院情报委员会中央情报局小组委员会主席，他同样直言不讳。
“他不该担任这个职位，”菲茨帕特里克说。“他完全没有情报背景。”
不过，并非所有情报监督官员都批评这一任命。众议院情报委员会主席、阿肯色州共和党人里克·克劳福德为特朗普的任命辩护，并驳斥了对普尔特尔履历的担忧。
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“也许你们该换个角度思考，”克劳福德说。“不管别人认不认识他，至少他没有试图策划推翻现任总统的企图。”
普尔特尔未回应置评请求。
2026年早些时候，普尔特尔表示，联邦住房金融局已将涉嫌的中国和朝鲜国民移交司法部，原因是该局发现这些人在房利美和房地美工作期间涉嫌冒充他人身份。
Why Trump picked Bill Pulte to lead US intelligence as critics question his qualifications
June 8, 2026 7:39am EDT / Fox News
Former FBI agent Rep Brian Fitzpatrick and ex-Senate leader Mitch McConnell among those pushing back on the selection
By Morgan Phillips Fox News
Fox News senior White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich has the latest on President Donald Trump appointing Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William ‘Bill’ Pulte on ‘Special Report.’
President Donald Trump’s selection of Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte to serve as acting director of National Intelligence elevates a housing finance regulator and former social media philanthropist to one of the government’s most sensitive national security posts.
Before entering government, Pulte was best known as the grandson of the founder of homebuilding giant PulteGroup and for building a large following through social media philanthropy campaigns that distributed money to followers online. He later became a prominent figure in conservative social media circles before Trump tapped him to lead the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which regulates Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Trump announced the selection in a Truth Social post, praising Pulte’s leadership of the housing finance system and his experience managing “the most sensitive matters in America.”
The White House declined to tell Fox News Digital whether Trump is considering Pulte for the position on a permanent basis. But expectations for Pulte became clearer Friday when Trump told The Wall Street Journal that he wants the acting intelligence chief to begin reducing the size of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
TRUMP NAMES BILL PULTE ACTING DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE
“I’d like to see it smaller. I think there are a lot of people in there that shouldn’t be there,” Trump told the newspaper, describing the agency as “unnecessary and/or too big.” Asked whether he wants Pulte to fire employees, Trump said he wants him to “start the process.”
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton, R-Ark., quickly endorsed the effort, arguing that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence has expanded far beyond the mission Congress envisioned when it created the office after the Sept. 11 attacks.
“President Trump is right: the ODNI has grown far beyond its original mandate,” Cotton wrote on X. “I’ve long advocated for downsizing, if not outright eliminating, this bureaucracy.”
Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency Bill Pulte walks outside the White House, Sept. 2, 2025, in Washington.(AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
The appointment immediately generated pushback from lawmakers and former officials who argued that Pulte lacks the experience for the role.
But Trump allies, many of whom spent years railing against an intelligence “Deep State” they believed was working to undermine Trump insisted he would dutifully carry out the president’s agenda.
“There is still very much so – I would say – internally a battle between different intelligence agencies,” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., said. “Half the battle in these intelligence positions is the fact that you want someone that will not obstruct the declassification order but assist in locating documents, and that is something that Bill will do.”
TRUMP’S DRASTIC NSC CUTS SPARK DEBATE: DOES FIGHTING THE ‘DEEP STATE’ PUT NATIONAL SECURITY AT RISK?
“Bill Pulte is a great American and Patriot who will always fight for President Trump and his agenda,” White House communications director Steven Cheung wrote on X. “This is an important time in our country, and Bill has the required energy and focus to achieve great things in this new position.”
Pulte’s selection follows a period of public friction between Trump and outgoing director Tulsi Gabbard, who leaves the role on June 30.
Gabbard entered the role as a critic of the intelligence establishment, but her assessment that Iran was not building a nuclear weapon became a point of contention with the president as the administration moved toward military action against Tehran. Trump publicly rejected her assessment, saying “I don’t care what she said” and later declaring that she was “wrong.”
Neither Trump nor his allies have defended Pulte’s selection by pointing to any intelligence or national security experience. Instead, supporters have emphasized his management experience, willingness to challenge bureaucracy and commitment to advancing administration priorities.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard appeared during a House Intelligence Committee hearing on worldwide threats on March 19, 2026, in Washington, D.C.(Daniel Heuer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The White House declined to tell Fox News Digital whether Trump is considering Pulte for the position on a permanent basis. The distinction could prove significant, as acting officials can wield most of the authorities of Senate-confirmed officeholders while serving in a role intended to be temporary.
“Very few Senate-confirmable positions come with statutory eligibility requirements. There are good reasons why the Director of National Intelligence is one of them,” former Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement.
“Anyone performing this role of such immense public trust must have the extensive national security experience required by statute, and no nominee who falls short of this requirement will earn my vote,” McConnell added.
Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., similarly argued that Pulte lacks the qualifications envisioned for the position.
“The concern is not only that Mr. Pulte lacks the ‘extensive national security experience’ required by statute,” Warner said. “It is that he appears to have been selected precisely because the White House believes he will provide the narrative it wants, not the intelligence we need.”
Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., similarly argued that Pulte lacks the qualifications envisioned for the position.(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., a former FBI agent who now chairs the House Intelligence Committee’s CIA Subcommittee, was similarly blunt.
“He shouldn’t be there,” Fitzpatrick said. “He’s got no background in intelligence.”
Not all intelligence overseers were critical of the appointment, however. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rick Crawford, R-Ark., defended Trump’s selection and dismissed concerns about Pulte’s résumé.
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“Maybe you should think about something else,” Crawford said. “This guy, whether anybody knows him or not, at least is not guilty of trying to orchestrate a coup against a sitting president.”
Pulte did not respond to a request for comment.
Earlier in 2026, Pulte said the FHFA had referred alleged Chinese and North Korean nationals to the Justice Department after discovering they had been working at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac while allegedly posing as other individuals.