The grand prize for loyalty to Donald Trump fell this Tuesday to Bill Pulte, who is the choice of the President of the United States to serve temporarily as National Intelligence Director replacing Tulsi Gabbard, who will leave the position this month. The chosen one lacks any experience in the field of espionage and until now managed the federal Housing Finance agency, which is basically the mortgage market.
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But Pulte has in his favor on his resume being an ultra MAGA whose operations have been aimed at orchestrating revenge against Trump’s supposed enemies, fostering several significant criminal complaints as part of the president’s retaliation campaign against the Democrats.
“Pulte has ‘extensive experience managing the most sensitive matters of the United States, the security and solidity of the markets, and more than 10 billion dollars in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, a figure substantially higher than that of just twelve months ago,’” the president wrote in a post on his social network to justify his choice.
While serving as interim intelligence director, Trump explained, Pulte will continue to be director of the federal Housing Finance agency, as well as chairman of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the large companies that guarantee most of the mortgages in the U.S.
The position of National Intelligence Director is a cabinet post that requires Senate confirmation, but appointing Pulte on an interim basis allows the president to bypass that process for the moment. It was also not immediately clear whether Pulte will be Trump’s permanent choice for that position.
Pulte has served as director of that Housing Finance agency since March 2025, after the Senate confirmed his appointment (56-43). Three Democrats joined Republicans to support his nomination.
In his role leading the agency, Pulte has taken action against Democrats whom Trump considers his political enemies. In March, Pulte filed two criminal complaints against New York Attorney General Letitia James, alleging mortgage insurance fraud, several months after the Trump Department of Justice (DOJ) failed to prosecute her for the third time. The accusations were deemed unfounded.
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In May 2025, Pulte referred a criminal complaint to the DOJ against Senator Adam Schiff, a Democrat from California, against whom Trump seeks revenge for his prominent role in the investigation of the alleged coup instigated by Trump on January 6, 2021, to perpetuate himself in government.
The investigation into the mortgage fraud allegations against Schiff, which he vehemently denied, eventually stalled. Another of Pulte’s alleged victims was Federal Reserve (Fed) Governor Lisa Cook, against whom he also used an alleged mortgage fraud last year for the president to announce her immediate dismissal. But Cook remains at the Fed because a judge ruled there was no legal basis to remove her. The case is pending the next Supreme Court ruling, which held a hearing a few months ago and from which it appeared the justices leaned in favor of Cook.
The Democrats, in turn, have also tried to take action against Pulte. Progressive lawmakers in the House of Representatives requested an inspector general in September 2025 to investigate Pulte precisely for the mortgage fraud accusations he made against Cook, accusations she denied.
Pulte was even accused of using his position to “fabricate extravagant mortgage fraud accusations” against supposed enemies of Trump.
In his work, Pulte has frequently allied with Ed Martin, a far-right activist who led the task force on the alleged political instrumentalization of the DOJ during the Biden administration. According to analysts, and like Martin, Pulte has proven to be more skilled at fueling Trump’s anger and telling the president what he wants to hear, rather than advancing solid judicial processes or obtaining convictions.
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