Trump Reaffirms Iran Talks, Names Pulte Acting Intelligence Chief
Donald Trump used Truth Social to announce that William J. Pulte would serve as acting director of national intelligence, elevating the housing finance official into one of the government’s most sensitive posts. He also pushed back on reports about Iran talks, insisting negotiations with Tehran were continuing even as he warned the standoff could not go on indefinitely. In a separate post, Trump praised a visit from Flávio Bolsonaro in the Oval Office, underscoring his continued ties to the Brazilian right.
Pulte Named Acting Intelligence Director
FederalWorkersTrump said he is appointing William J. Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and chairman of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to serve as acting director of national intelligence. He said Pulte will keep his current housing-finance roles while taking on the intelligence post temporarily.
The appointment signals Trump’s preference for loyalists and business-oriented figures in sensitive national security roles, even when they do not come from the intelligence community. By elevating a housing-finance official to oversee intelligence, Trump is also reinforcing his habit of treating top government posts as interchangeable instruments of management and political trust rather than as specialized institutions. The move could be read as a test of institutional boundaries and a reminder that personnel choices remain central to Trump’s governing style, especially in areas where he has long criticized entrenched bureaucracies.
"I am appointing the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and Chairman of Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, William J. Pulte, to serve as Acting Director of National Intelligence."
"During this period, he will remain Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and Chairman of Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac."