{"id":889,"date":"2026-06-02T16:39:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T16:39:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=889"},"modified":"2026-06-02T16:39:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T16:39:12","slug":"even-gop-senators-are-blasting-trump-push-to-weaponize-national-intelligence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=889","title":{"rendered":"Even GOP senators are blasting Trump push to ‘weaponize’ national intelligence"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump announced that Bill Pulte, a \u201chome-building heir\u201d who currently oversees the Federal Housing Finance Agency, would step in as acting Director of National Intelligence to replace Tulsi Gabbard. The decision has drawn swift bipartisan criticism over Pulte\u2019s total lack of experience and what is viewed as an effort to \u201cweaponize\u201d the U.S. intelligence apparatus. <\/p>\n

Read more Reporter painstakingly details how Trump\u2019s DNI pick will hijack intel apparatus<\/a><\/p>\n

“We don’t need a weaponized DNI, we need professionals there,” declared Senator Majority Leader John Thune (R-SC). \u201cIf he’s somebody we want in that position permanently, he’s got a lengthy road ahead of him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fears over weaponization stem from Pulte\u2019s previous efforts to target Trump\u2019s enemies. As the head of the FHFA, he used his position to suggest criminal charges for mortgage fraud against the likes of New York Attorney General Letitia James, Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Federal Reserve board member Lisa Cook \u2014 all of whom drew the president\u2019s ire over various incidents.<\/p>\n

With all this in mind, Senator Mark Warner, a top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, shared Thune\u2019s sentiments, blasting at length: \u201cThis appointment speaks volumes about what this president expects from the nation’s top intelligence official. Rather than selecting a respected national security professional capable of delivering independent judgments, the president has chosen an official who has demonstrated not just willingness but eagerness to use the authorities of government to pursue political retribution.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAmericans have already seen Mr. Pulte use the powers of his office at the Federal Housing Finance Agency to pursue the president’s grievances and lend credibility to dubious prosecutions of President Trump’s perceived political opponents,\u201d Warner continued. \u201cElevating him to oversee the Intelligence Community makes clear that this president is not looking for an intelligence leader who will follow the facts or speak truth to power, but rather someone who will be willing to shape intelligence around the president’s wishes, regardless of the cost to the American people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more US officials continuing with plan to bar Trump family tax audits<\/a><\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, Warner took issue with Pulte\u2019s bona fides, or lack thereof, arguing, “The concern is not only that Mr. Pulte lacks the \u2018extensive national security experience’ required by statute for the job, which was created after intelligence failures led to the deaths of thousands of Americans on 9\/11. It is that he appears to have been selected precisely because the White House believes he will provide the narrative it wants, not the intelligence we need. Americans have every reason to worry about what happens when the official charged with overseeing everything from counterterrorism to foreign election threats is chosen for his willingness to advance the president’s political agenda rather than his experience. That is how intelligence becomes politicized, how inconvenient facts disappear, how agencies charged with protecting our democracy instead become tools to manipulate it, and how Americans are left more vulnerable to a terrorist attack.”<\/p>\n

Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) put it more simply: \u201cI see no evidence of any qualifications for that job.\u201d And Senator Angus King (Independent-ME), who serves on the Senate Intelligence Committee, rounded things out, \u201cBy any objective assessment \u2014 in terms of experience, expertise, background \u2014 this appointment makes no sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

Journalist Chris Hayes summed up the collective assessment well, posting, \u201cThis is so utterly insane I\u2019m at a loss. But it makes sense if you want to turn the entire U.S. intelligence apparatus into a tool for domestic persecution and domination.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more US now key driver of global risk \u2014 and China stands to benefit: Eurasia group chief<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump announced that Bill Pulte, a \u201chome-building heir\u201d who currently oversees the Federal Housing Finance Agency, would step in as acting Director of National Intelligence to replace Tulsi Gabbard. The decision has drawn swift bipartisan criticism over Pulte\u2019s total lac…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":888,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nEven GOP senators are blasting Trump push to 'weaponize' national intelligence - Next Address America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=889\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Even GOP senators are blasting Trump push to 'weaponize' national intelligence - Next Address America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On Tuesday, President Donald Trump announced that Bill Pulte, a \u201chome-building heir\u201d who currently oversees the Federal Housing Finance Agency, would step in as acting Director of National Intelligence to replace Tulsi Gabbard. 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