No, Trump Did Not Pick Bill Pulte to Replace Tulsi Gabbard as Acting DNI — The Claim Is False

The claim states that Trump selected Bill Pulte to replace Tulsi Gabbard as acting director of national intelligence and faced public backlash for it. Nearly every part of that sentence is wrong.

First, Gabbard has not been replaced. According to Reuters and NBC News, she was nominated and then confirmed by the Senate as Director of National Intelligence in February 2025. She has served in that role since. There is no credible reporting from any outlet — including AP News — of her being removed or stepping down.

Second, Bill Pulte has no connection to the intelligence community. Politico and other outlets confirm that Pulte was nominated and confirmed as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the regulator that oversees mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. That is a housing finance job, not a national security one.

The claim essentially takes two real people, assigns them to the wrong jobs, and invents a personnel drama that never happened. AP News found no credible reporting of Trump ever selecting Pulte for any intelligence role whatsoever. The strongest version of this claim — that there was some internal discussion about a shake-up — also has no sourcing to support it.

Stories like this spread because they feel plausible on the surface. Real names, real titles, real political tension — mix them together and a false claim can look like breaking news. If you see a dramatic personnel story about national security, check whether major outlets like Reuters, AP, or NBC are reporting it. If none of them are, that silence is itself the story.