Scott Jennings Urges Trump To Ditch Pulte And Appoint ‘Best Possible Expert’ For Intel Director

Conservative CNN pundit Scott Jennings advised President Donald Trump to ditch Bill Pulte as his pick for acting director of national intelligence.

Trump’s choice has received bipartisan disapproval over Pulte’s lack of intelligence experience, and lack of the required security clearance. Pulte had been serving as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, where he’s charged several of Trump’s foes with mortgage fraud.

CNN’s Jessica Dean asked Jennings if Pulte’s lack of experience made him an “appropriate” pick.

“Well, look, these people ultimately serve at the pleasure of the president,” Jennings answered. “And if the president has confidence in him, then, you know, that’s why we elect presidents — to exercise their judgment in personnel, and personnel is policy.”

“He has some things he wants Pulte to do there,” Jennings said, continuing:

As you mentioned, he is not going to be the permanent director of national intelligence. I believe the president is interviewing other people for the permanent slot. And I think he got some pushback on the Hill about this. So, look, you know, the president gets to appoint thousands of people. This is one of them. He has confidence in him. I don’t know, Mr. Pulte.

My advice to the president is, get somebody that ultimately you can get confirmed, and is going to broadly be accepted as the best possible expert that you could get to serve in your administration. It’s a critical role. And and he needs to fill it with someone that I think engenders broad confidence up on Capitol Hill, at least from the Republicans. I don’t think the Democrats are ever going to sign off on anything, but at least from your own party.

So far, at least six Senate Republicans have voiced their dissatisfaction with Pulte being Trump’s pick, with Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) reducing Pulte to no more than an “incendiary attack dog,” and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) saying, “I see no evidence of any qualifications for that job.”

Watch the clip above via CNN.

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