Senate Confirms New Spymaster After Mortgage Boss Bill Pulte Fired 30% of Staff in the Role

Congress has confirmed a new permanent director of national intelligence, marking the end of top mortgage regulator Bill Pulte's tenure as acting replacement for former director Tulsi Gabbard.

The Senate confirmed Jay Clayton to role by a vote of 51-47 Tuesday night. The director of national intelligence, or DNI for short, coordinates the nation's intelligence agencies, including the CIA, to detect and deter threats such as terrorism, cyberattacks, and international espionage.

Clayton, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, has overseen numerous high-profile international cases with a nexus to national security matters.

That includes the indictment of Venezuelan Nicolás Maduro after the U.S. extracted him from that country earlier this year, as well as Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, accused of executing terrorist attacks in the U.S. on behalf of Iranian terrorist groups.

The Trump administration's top housing czar had been splitting time as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and acting DNI since Trump appointed him to the intelligence job last month. But his appointment to the role was immediately controversial for Democrats and Republicans alike.

"Congratulations to the Great Jay Clayton on his confirmation by the United States Senate, to be the next Director of National Intelligence," President Donald Trump posted to Truth Social after the vote. "Jay is outstanding in every way, and will do a spectacular job as Director!"

On his personal X account, Pulte thanked Trump for the temporary DNI job.

"So deeply grateful to POTUS for letting me be acting Director of National Intelligence," Pulte said. "He is, truly, the best, and it is a blessing to work for him. While it’s been only a few weeks, so much has already been accomplished —Operationally, AND, Transparency. Thank you, POTUS."

Pulte slashes staff at ODNI

Pulte, 38, hails from the family of homebuilder PulteGroup. The Senate confirmed him as head of the Federal Housing Administration, which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, last year.

He's gone to institute major change at those organizations. He's also headed some reforms to the mortgage system, as well as credit scoring models aimed to encourage more young people to buy homes.

But when Trump suggested Pulte move to the intelligence spot, he faced immediate bipartisan criticism.

In his role at FHFA, Pulte has been quick to seek investigations of Trump's political foes over mortgage fraud allegations. And he has no direct experience in the intelligence world. Trump later said Pulte would only remain in the role temporarily.

Pulte has remained active on social media, including creating a new Twitter handle for "DNI Pulte" last month.

He announced a wave of five layoffs Tuesday, which he said meant a 30% reduction in the headcount of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in a matter of weeks. These changes, he said, were aimed at "re-focusing" the agency.

"The Intelligence Community must protect the American people, NOT the political whims of the bloated and corrupt elite class," Pulte said in the X post.

Pulte on social media has also touted declassified documents that discuss intelligence agency assessments that China sought to prevent Trump's reelection in the 2020 presidential election.