Pulte fires dozens at US intelligence office, MS Now reports

Acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte has dismissed dozens of U.S. intelligence officials, MS Now reported Friday, citing an intelligence official granted anonymity over fear of retaliation. The reported removals extend a personnel shake-up at the office that coordinates the work of 18 U.S. intelligence agencies, including the CIA and National Security Agency.

According to MS Now, Pulte sent termination notices on Thursday to dozens of officials. The intelligence official told MS Now that the Trump administration was removing personnel it viewed as part of a “deep state” and as having allegedly failed to give complete accounts of available intelligence.

CNBC reported that the White House and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence did not immediately respond Friday to requests for comment.

Trump had called for removals

President Donald Trump selected Pulte in June to serve as acting director of national intelligence after Tulsi Gabbard resigned in May. Pulte formally took the interim post on June 19, which gave him access to highly sensitive U.S. intelligence material, according to CNBC.

The director of national intelligence is the government’s top intelligence coordinator. The office does not run every collection operation directly, but it oversees priorities, budgets and information-sharing across the intelligence community. An acting director exercises those authorities while a permanent nominee awaits confirmation or while the White House decides how to proceed.

Trump reportedly said in early June that he wanted Pulte to “start the process” of firing large numbers of employees at the DNI office, CNBC reported. CNN reported last month that Pulte had already removed several political appointees who served under Gabbard.

The president’s decision to put Pulte in the intelligence role has drawn bipartisan criticism from members of Congress, according to CNBC. Pulte also remains director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the regulator for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Bank system.

CNBC has reported that Pulte has used his FHFA role to investigate Trump opponents over alleged mortgage fraud. The latest reported dismissals place him at the center of a second high-profile federal personnel and oversight dispute, this time involving national security agencies whose internal work is largely classified.

Clayton nomination stalled

Trump in June announced Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and former chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, as his intended permanent nominee for director of national intelligence.

The Senate sought to move quickly on Clayton’s nomination and set a confirmation hearing for June 17, CNBC reported. Hours before that hearing, Trump instructed Clayton in a Truth Social post not to attend and said Pulte would continue as acting director in the interim.

The reported firings add to scrutiny of how the administration is reshaping the intelligence apparatus before a permanent director is confirmed. For lawmakers and agency leaders, the issue now turns on the scope of Pulte’s acting authority, the rationale for the dismissals and whether further removals are planned.

This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.