Warner Introduces Bill to Restrict Acting DNI Appointments

Senate Intelligence Vice Chair Mark Warner (D-Va.) has presented a bill aimed at preventing the president from appointing acting directors of national intelligence without Senate confirmation. This legislation targets President Trump’s recent appointment of Bill Pulte to lead the intelligence community.

Pulte, who continues to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency, was appointed as acting director after Trump bypassed the Senate confirmation process for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). Warner’s proposal, named the Do Not Interfere in our Intelligence Act, mandates that the principal deputy DNI, a Senate-confirmed official, should assume the role during vacancies.

According to Warner, “Bill Pulte may be exactly who President Trump wants running the intelligence community, but that does not make him qualified for the job.” Warner insists that intelligence leadership requires experienced, Senate-confirmed professionals, not individuals merely catering to presidential preferences.

Warner warns that a potential intelligence misstep during Pulte’s tenure could have dire consequences, making President Trump responsible for choosing an unqualified leader over seasoned national security experts. Following former DNI Tulsi Gabbard’s resignation due to personal matters, Trump initially selected Aaron Lukas, the principal deputy, to temporarily head the ODNI but later replaced Lukas with Pulte.

Pulte’s lack of national security and intelligence experience raised concerns even among Senate Republicans. While serving at FHFA, Pulte made referrals to the Justice Department against Trump’s adversaries. Democrats responded by insisting on Lukas’s reinstatement and threatening to withhold support for crucial spy powers renewal.

The impasse led to Congress failing to renew foreign surveillance authorities. Trump then nominated U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton for DNI, but asked Clayton not to attend the confirmation hearing to expedite Pulte’s removal from the acting role.

Warner’s bill proposes that if the principal deputy DNI is unavailable, the president must select from other senior ODNI officials vetted by the Senate: leaders of the National Counterterrorism Center or the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, ODNI’s general counsel, or the inspector general of the intelligence community. As a safeguard, it also includes Senate-confirmed officials from the CIA, Department of Homeland Security, and the National Security Agency as potential candidates.