Just before leaving office amid a contentious battle over who will succeed her, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard used one of her final acts atop the U.S.intelligence community to spotlight Dr.
Anthony Fauci's role in discussions surrounding the government's COVID-19 origins review. While much of the material is familiar, Gabbard's release underscores her effort to make questions surrounding Fauci, COVID origins and federal support for virus research part of her closing legacy atop the intelligence community.As Gabbard fired her final broadside, Bill Pulte, who has received bipartisan criticism over his lack of intelligence experience, is set to take the reins at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence while Trump’s permanent nominee remains stalled.Jay Clayton, an attorney and former SEC chairman whom Trump nominated to permanently lead ODNI, has seen his confirmation process delayed after the president said he was holding up the nomination to pressure Congress to pass a voter identification measure.Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard testifies during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on worldwide threats at the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., on March 18, 2026.(Win McNamee/Getty Images)WHY TRUMP PICKED BILL PULTE TO LEAD US INTELLIGENCE AS CRITICS QUESTION HIS QUALIFICATIONSPulte is a construction businessman and housing official who served as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
His tenure at the housing agency has drawn controversy over allegations that he used FHFA authority to target Trump’s political opponents, an allegation amplifying concerns among key senators that he may attempt to weaponize the intelligence community at the behest of the president during his interim tenure."We don’t need a weaponized DNI, we need professionals there," Senate Majority Leader Sen.John Thune said of Pulte.
Other powerful congressional Republicans, such as Sens.Cornyn, Cassidy, Murkowski, Coll...