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After selecting Bill Pulte — a federal housing agency official with no experience in national security — to lead the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), President Donald Trump and his strongest Republican allies in Congress are presenting a united front, claiming the nominee is a reformer who will be loyal to the president’s wishes.

On Thursday, the White House sent out a press release describing Pulte’s nomination as “drawing praise from lawmakers in the nation’s capital.” The release included several Republican lawmakers’ social media statements after the nomination was made earlier this week.

Sen. Jim Banks (R-Indiana), for example, called Pulte a “patriot” who will “fight to drain the Swamp of our intel community.” Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) issued a similar statement, stating he is “confident [Pulte] is the right man to drain the SWAMP in our intel community.”

The phrase “drain the swamp” is commonly attributed to Trump, who has previously used it in his campaign messaging — despite going on to make appointments and decisions in office that many have condemned as deeply corrupt.

Other lawmakers in the press statement shared by the White House sought to praise Trump rather than address Pulte’s clear lack of qualifications to become DNI. Sen. Andrew Clyde (R-Georgia) said Trump “has a phenomenal track record of making out of the box appointments that deliver results for the American people.”

Trump Appoints Loyalist With Zero Experience to Top Intelligence Role

Among Trump’s “out of the box” selections are Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaxxer with no health care experience, to lead the Department of Health and Human Services; former Fox News anchor Pete Hegseth, who has minimal military experience and no senior experience at all, to lead the Department of Defense; and former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi........

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