Bill Pulte
Bill Pulte is the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and chairman of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, both since 2025, and served concurrently as acting Director of National Intelligence. Entries naming him record staffing reductions at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and actions taken against individuals who had drawn official criticism. He is one of several officials in the archive holding more than one federal role at a time; the parenthetical on each entry records which he was acting in.
Also known as William Pulte
2026 Events (8)
Acting DNI Pulte announced a fifth, 'near final' round of ODNI terminations, citing a roughly 30% staff reduction
On July 28, 2026, acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte posted on X that ODNI was "Executing a 5th and Near Final Round of TERMINATIONS, an approximately 30% Staff Reduction from Weeks Ago," framing the cuts as necessary so the intelligence community would "protect the American people, NOT the political whims of the bloated and corrupt elite class." The announcement came hours before the Senate's confirmation vote on permanent DNI nominee Jay Clayton and one day after a fourth round of cuts.
Acting DNI Pulte announced a fourth round of ODNI staff cuts, again without disclosing numbers or positions affected
On July 27, 2026, acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte posted on X that ODNI had "just finished a 4th round of thoughtful, measured layoffs," continuing a pattern of unquantified staff reductions dating to his June 22 directive. Pulte did not disclose how many employees were affected, which positions were eliminated, or whether staff were terminated or reassigned. The announcement came as the Senate considered permanent DNI nominee Jay Clayton's confirmation.
Acting DNI Pulte announced a third round of ODNI staff cuts, again declining to disclose numbers or positions affected
On July 10, 2026, acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte announced on X that ODNI had begun a third round of staff reductions, describing the office as "reducing redundant, or non-critical, personnel." As with the prior rounds, Pulte did not disclose how many employees were affected, which positions were eliminated, or whether staff were fired outright or reassigned. The announcement followed the first round of firings on June 23 and preceded a fourth round on July 27.
Acting DNI Pulte named RNC election operative Christina Norton, who lacks intelligence experience, ODNI chief of staff
On June 26, 2026, acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte named Christina Norton — the former "election integrity" director of the Republican National Committee — as chief of staff of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Norton, who has no known intelligence or national-security background, had overseen the RNC's 2024 poll-watching operation and, on a 2024 organizing call, cast doubt on the legitimacy of the 2020 election. Former intelligence officials and Democratic lawmakers warned that the appointment signaled ODNI would be turned toward pursuing election-fraud claims ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Acting DNI Pulte fired six political appointees and removed dozens of career intelligence officers in first ODNI purge round
On June 23, 2026, acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte carried out the first round of removals under his ODNI purge: six political appointees installed by former Director Tulsi Gabbard were fired, and roughly 45 career intelligence officers on joint-duty assignment were stripped of their details and sent back to their home agencies, with additional career officials removed from their positions, according to CNN and CBS News. The cuts followed Pulte's June 22 directive ordering ODNI offices to submit ranked lists of personnel for removal.
Acting DNI Pulte ordered ODNI offices to rank personnel for mass firings, targeting career intelligence professionals
On June 22, 2026, acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte directed Office of the Director of National Intelligence offices to submit ranked lists of their personnel for cuts, beginning an expected mass purge of career intelligence professionals. The National Counterterrorism Center and National Counterintelligence and Security Center were identified as facing the deepest cuts. Pulte, who has no national-security background, assumed the acting DNI role on June 19 following Tulsi Gabbard's departure, and the firings proceed under a June 5 Trump directive to reduce the size of the intelligence community.
Trump directs acting DNI Pulte to start firing intelligence community personnel
In a Wall Street Journal interview published June 5, 2026, President Trump said he has directed newly installed acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte to "start the process" of firing national-security personnel and to make the intelligence community smaller, framing the targets as career officials who served under the Biden and Obama administrations. Trump said Pulte's "acting" status leaves him "less shackled" to execute rapid cuts, and indicated he does not intend to formally nominate Pulte — who has no national-security background — for the permanent role.
Bill Pulte issued two new criminal referrals against NY AG Letitia James after prior indictment was dismissed and two grand juries declined
On March 25, 2026, HUD Secretary and FHFA Director Bill Pulte issued two new criminal referrals to the DOJ targeting New York Attorney General Letitia James, alleging suspected homeowners insurance fraud tied to insurance applications in Florida and Illinois. The referrals were routed to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois — different venues from earlier referrals that produced an indictment a court dismissed and two successive grand jury declines. James's attorneys characterized the action as part of a continuing "revenge campaign" by officials "frustrated by repeated failures, where judges and grand juries have rejected their attempts."
2025 Events (2)
Fannie Mae fired ethics staff investigating Pulte's access to Letitia James's mortgage records
On October 30, 2025, Fannie Mae fired Chief Ethics Officer Suzanne Libby and about a dozen other ethics and internal-investigations staff, days after General Counsel Danielle McCoy was forced to resign, while that unit was investigating whether Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte's team had improperly obtained New York Attorney General Letitia James's confidential mortgage records. Senior Fannie Mae executives who separately raised alarms that a Pulte ally had shared confidential mortgage-pricing data with rival Freddie Mac were forced out around the same time. Pulte publicly attributed the firings to a standard business layoff targeting diversity-equity-and-inclusion roles; Wall Street Journal reporting in late October 2025, corroborated independently by Associated Press reporting in November 2025, revealed both firings were retaliatory.
Trump fired Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, citing FHFA director's pretextual mortgage fraud allegation
President Trump removed Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook on August 25, 2025, posting a termination letter to Truth Social citing his Article II authority and a "criminal referral" by Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte alleging Cook committed mortgage fraud before joining the Fed. The Federal Reserve Act permits removal of Board governors only "for cause," a provision designed to protect the central bank's independence from short-term political pressure. A federal court subsequently found Cook had made a strong showing that the removal violated the statute's cause requirement.