Trump Urges ‘Less Shackled’ Bill Pulte to Fire Intelligence Officials: WSJ

(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Per a Friday interview with The Wall Street Journal,  President Donald Trump said acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte is “less shackled” because he does not require Senate confirmation — and should use that freedom to begin firing employees across the U.S. intelligence community.

According to the Journal’s Brian Schwartz, Trump said he has privately encouraged Pulte to start reducing the size of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), which coordinates the work of 18 intelligence agencies and offices across the federal government.

“I’d like to see it smaller. I think there are a lot of people in there that shouldn’t be there,” Trump said, referencing those who remained from former President Barack Obama and former President Joe Biden’s administrations.

When asked whether he was specifically calling for employees to be dismissed, Trump replied that he wants Pulte to “start the process” and said whoever is eventually nominated to hold the position permanently should continue those efforts.

The report also said Trump floated the possibility of dramatically reducing or even eliminating ODNI altogether.

“We’ve made the Department of Education much smaller, and likewise, this should be much smaller,” Trump said. “And this should maybe even be terminated, and we’ll make that decision.”

Trump’s comments come just days after he named Pulte — currently the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency — to serve as intelligence chief on an acting basis despite having no traditional national security background. He went on to suggest that his temporary status could actually give Pulte greater latitude to act.

“You’re less shackled,” Trump told the Journal. “It sort of gives you more power, you know, for a somewhat limited period of time.”

Trump also said he hopes Pulte can make significant changes before a permanent director is confirmed.

“Frankly, it might be good for him to shake it up before people come,” Trump said. “Because, if he reduced the size, in conjunction with me…and in conjunction with possibly the person coming in…he can do a lot of the hard work and we wouldn’t have to saddle somebody that goes in.”

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