Pulte lingers as intel chief while senators say it’s time for ‘the temp’ to move on

descriptions off, selected

captions settings, opens captions settings dialog

captions off, selected

This is a modal window.

Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.

End of dialog window.

The Hill's Headlines (PM) - July 30, 2026

The Hill's Headlines (PM) - July 30, 2026

Bill Pulte may be out of a job, but he hasn’t walked out the door. 

The Senate on Tuesday confirmed Jay Clayton to be the new director of national intelligence (DNI), replacing Pulte in a role President Trump said he would only be in temporarily. 

But the White House has bucked the practice of swiftly swearing in the newly confirmed official within hours of their vote, leaving Clayton waiting for several days. 

The move has incensed Democrats and confused Republicans on the Senate Intelligence Committee who say it’s simply time for Pulte to go and return to his existing role as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). 

“Spectacularly bizarre,” Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said when asked about the situation.

“I’ve never heard anybody doing such a thing. I mean, that’s the way it is with these guys,” he said of the Trump administration, adding the situation defies “logic.”

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, called the situation “amazing” before clarifying, “in a horrible way.”

“It’s baffling,” he said.

At numerous steps along the way, Trump has aided Pulte, who at FHFA recommended criminal prosecution of four Trump foes for mortgage fraud, in settling into the role.

Pulte was tapped to lead the Office of the Director of........

© The Hill