No, Trump Did Not Plan to Install Bill Pulte as Acting Director of National Intelligence

A claim has been circulating that President Trump confirmed plans to install Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence. That is false. No such announcement was ever made, and the director of national intelligence position has already been filled by someone else entirely.

Trump nominated Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence, according to Reuters. The Senate then confirmed her in February 2025, per official Senate voting records. That means she holds the confirmed, permanent role — not an acting position, and not a role that was ever offered to Bill Pulte.

So who is Bill Pulte? He is a real Trump appointee, but for a completely different job. AP News reported that Pulte was nominated and confirmed as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the body that oversees mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. That role has nothing to do with national intelligence or the intelligence community.

The claim appears to have been built by mixing two real people and two real appointments into one false story. Both names are genuine, both hold real positions in the Trump administration — but they have been scrambled together in a way that is entirely made up. PolitiFact found no credible reporting or official announcement linking Pulte to any intelligence role.

This kind of misinformation is worth watching for because it sounds plausible on the surface. It uses real names, real titles, and a real administration, which makes it harder to dismiss at first glance. When a claim involves a specific appointment, the fastest check is to look for a Senate confirmation vote or an official White House announcement — if neither exists, the claim almost certainly does not hold up.