The Bipartisan Rebellion That Forced Trump To Back Down On His Disastrous Pulte Pick

(SeaPRwire) –

By: Gavin Thorne, insider political investigative journalist based in Washington, D.C.

This isn’t a win for thoughtful Senate oversight. It’s a complete breakdown of Donald Trump’s core personnel judgment. He picked a totally unqualified loyalist for one of the nation’s most sensitive national security posts, and got slapped down by lawmakers from both parties. Even his own GOP Senate leaders refused to line up behind the pick. This isn’t ordinary Washington horse trading. It’s a reminder that Trump still puts personal loyalty above every other requirement for critical government jobs.

Last month, Tulsi Gabbard resigned as Trump’s permanent director of national intelligence. She cited her husband’s recent cancer diagnosis as the reason for stepping down. Trump tapped Bill Pulte, his sitting Federal Housing Finance Agency director, to fill the role on an acting basis. Pulte, grandson of PulteGroup’s founder, has zero national security experience for a job that coordinates 18 security agencies. Bipartisan senators immediately pushed back hard, saying a permanent nomination would never get confirmed.

On Thursday, Trump announced Pulte would never be his permanent pick for the role. He claimed Pulte doesn’t even want the permanent job, and called Pulte a man of high integrity. Trump said he is currently interviewing other candidates for the permanent post. Even before this intelligence fight, Pulte was already a controversial figure inside the administration. He targeted Trump’s political rivals over alleged mortgage fraud, attacked Fed Chair Jerome Powell, and proposed a widely panned 50-year mortgage.

Senate Republicans didn’t just side with Democrats here. They drew a clear line on how far they would go. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the intelligence director job shouldn’t be weaponized, and needs a professional. Three outgoing Republican senators — Thom Tillis, Bill Cassidy, John Cornyn — all publicly raised concerns about Pulte. Democrats went even further. Elizabeth Warren sent a formal letter calling on Trump to rescind the acting appointment entirely, warning he would push election denial lies.

The friction around Pulte isn’t limited to Capitol Hill. He’s rubbed nearly every senior Trump official the wrong way for months. Just this week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed he once threatened to fight Pulte back in September 2025. That’s a staggering level of open conflict inside a sitting administration. Pulte still keeps his spot close to Trump, though. He’s a frequent guest on Air Force One, and has the president’s personal trust despite the chaos he leaves in his wake.

Trump will nominate another loyalist for the post, just one with a thin veneer of national security credentials.