President Donald Trump’s pick for acting director of national intelligence, Bill Pulte, showed up at his new job a day early on Thursday after asking for a list of every employee in the office so he could assess whether to fire them, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN.
Concerns Over Pulte’s Qualifications
Pulte, a Trump loyalist with no intelligence experience, is eyeing to cut hundreds of jobs at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). His appearance at ODNI on Thursday caught staff off-guard, including the outgoing director, Tulsi Gabbard, who was given a brief heads up on the visit.
Pulte met with lawyers and staffers during his visit, the sources told CNN. In his only other briefing with ODNI last week, Pulte asked staff if he could bring the President’s Daily Briefing to his house, raising alarm bells among intelligence officials, according to one of the sources.
Questions Over Pulte’s Priorities
Pulte also asked about his level of security clearance — whether it was a top-secret — and if he had access to a government plane, the first source said, even though the briefing was meant to explain the core mission of ODNI to Pulte. CNN has reached out to the White House and ODNI for comment.
There is concern from Democrats — and some Republicans — on Capitol Hill that he is unfit for the job and that he could go further than Gabbard did in embracing Trump’s grievances in what is supposed to be an apolitical role.
Original reporting: KRDO (Colorado Springs metro) — read the source article.