Speaker Mike Johnson met with President Trump on Tuesday morning as Democrats expressed serious concerns about Trump's appointment of Bill Pulte as acting Director of National Intelligence, threatening efforts to renew surveillance powers scheduled to expire at the end of the week.
The appointment has created a significant obstacle to reauthorizing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows U.S. intelligence agencies to collect communications of foreign targets operating outside the country without a warrant. Congress faces a June 12 deadline to renew the authority.
Pulte, currently head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and a major Republican donor, has no intelligence background. His selection came days after Tulsi Gabbard departed from the DNI role. Senior Democrats immediately warned the appointment could collapse the fragile bipartisan agreement needed to extend Section 702.
Mark Warner, the Democratic vice-chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, criticized Pulte's qualifications. "What qualifications from my standpoint does Mr Pulte bring to the office? Well, he has shown that he is willing to do anything that President Trump wants, legal or otherwise," Warner said during a hearing Tuesday. In a subsequent interview, Warner stated that Pulte's appointment had upended what he described as an already difficult renewal process, saying "I do not have the confidence I had yesterday."
Democrats have made clear that support for a Section 702 extension could collapse unless Trump reconsiders the appointment. Warner reportedly asked Senate Majority Leader John Thune to use his influence with the White House to reverse the decision.
Thune offered a notably cool response to Trump's pick. He told reporters that the nation does not need a "weaponized" intelligence director and warned that Pulte would face "a lengthy road ahead" if nominated permanently.
Other senior Republicans have also pushed back. Mitch McConnell, the former Senate majority leader, said on Wednesday: "Anyone performing this role of such immense public trust must have the extensive national security experience required by statute, and no nominee who falls short of this requirement will earn my vote."
Chris Murphy, a Democratic senator from Connecticut, expressed concern that intelligence collection powers would now be controlled by someone with "a history of seeking out private information for political gain." Critics point to Pulte's tenure at the FHFA, where he leveled unproven fraud allegations against figures including Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook.
The current renewal bill, circulated by Senate Intelligence Chair Tom Cotton and Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley, would extend Section 702 through June 2029 and include new penalties for intelligence abuses. The measure requires Democratic support to reach the 60-vote threshold needed for passage.