Banking and Finance Law Daily Wrap Up, DIRECTORS, OFFICERS AND EMPLOYERS—Warren calls for removal of Pulte as Acting Director of intelligence agency and FHFA Director, (Jul 7, 2026)

By A. Bryan Gerepka

Allowing Pulte to serve in any capacity for any amount of time in the Office of the DNI would create grave national security risks for our nation, the senator warned.

William Pulte should immediately resign his roles as Acting Director of the Office of National Intelligence (ODNI) and Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), said Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), citing his lack of qualifications for the ODNI role and other controversies that have surrounded his tenure at FHFA.

Warren made these comments in response to the findings of a report that was prepared and issued by the Minority Staff of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, as Pulte prepares to assume his new role at ODNI in July 2026. Warren is the Ranking Member of the Committee.

According to the report, titled Bill Pulte: Unprofessional, Unqualified, and Unfit, Pulte has initiated politically motivated investigations at the behest of President Donald Trump, violated FHFA laws and ethics rules, and mismanaged the housing finance agency. In addition, Mr. Pulte lacks the military, intelligence, diplomatic, or law enforcement experience needed for the ODNI role.

Pulte’s record reveals a lack of the judgment and discretion necessary to serve as Acting DNI, the senator wrote in a statement. “Bill Pulte has spent the last year at FHFA as Donald Trump’s attack dog, abusing every tool at his disposal to investigate the President’s perceived political enemies,” she stated. “Now, he’s taken the helm of our nation’s intelligence community, where he’s reportedly already started mass firings of counterintelligence officers.”

The senator warned that “allowing Pulte to serve in any capacity for any amount of time in the Office of the DNI would create grave national security risks for our nation.” Warren called on President Trump to immediately rescind Pulte’s appointment as acting DNI and replace him with a qualified leader. At the same time, she continued, the President should also remove Pulte from his post as FHFA Director.

Controversies at FHFA. The report highlighted several failings and instances of unprofessionalism exhibited by Pulte as FHFA Director, actions that suggest a pattern of law-breaking and disregard for regulatory norms. According to the report, Pulte engaged in politically motivated attacks throughout 2025, accusing New York State Attorney General Letitia James, Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), and Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook of alleged mortgage fraud. His push for investigations and prosecutions against these individuals has been unsuccessful. Further, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) is investigating whether Pulte abused his power and misused sensitive financial data for political purposes.

An individual unwilling to follow the law–particularly laws governing the use of private, sensitive information–should not be running the ODNI for any period, the report stressed.

The report also highlighted Pulte’s campaign to influence President Trump to fire former Fed Chair Jerome Powell, including drafting a letter to fire Powell and pushing for subpoenas of the construction and renovation costs associated with the Fed headquarters building.

Ethics, law violations. Pulte has also disregarded Federal rules by installing himself as Chairman of the boards of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. This move violated Federal law that prohibits such dual roles after the FHFA became both conservator and regulator of both companies in 2008.

Pulte has taken steps that appear to skirt federal rules or make it difficult for officials to evaluate potential misconduct at FHFA and Fannie and Freddie, the report observed. Meanwhile, in November 2025, the report stated that Pulte reportedly “fired internal watchdogs at Fannie Mae who were looking into multiple complaints against a high-ranking company officer close to him.”

FHFA staff restructuring. While President Trump has stated that he would “like to see it [the Office of the Director of National Intelligence] smaller” and that it “might be good for” Pulte to “shake…up” the office by reducing staff, the report noted that Pulte’s track record at FHFA reveals that he is a poor pick for the role.

Pulte’s approach to workforce restructuring reflects poor judgment and management skills, the report stated. Upon taking office, Pulte “placed 35 unionized [FHFA] employees on administrative leave,” including employees in the Offices of Consumer Protection, Statistics and Research, and Equal Opportunity and Fairness.” This decision was reportedly made with “no advance notice” or explanation to agency workers. Pulte fired over 100 additional Fannie Mae employees for allegedly “facilitating fraud,” the report found.

While FHFA should take steps to prevent fraud and, if necessary, discipline employees who break the law or fail to follow agency policies, it was unclear if Pulte’s actions complied with all relevant laws and agency procedures, the report stated.

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