President Trump spoke with the Wall Street Journal today and revealed the new sweeping mandate he is giving Acting DNI Bill Pulte.
In short, he wants Pulte to shrink the size of the intel divisions by firing a bunch of people.
Here’s the news:
SCOOP: President Trump in an exclusive interview tells me he expects and has made clear to Bill Pulte, his new acting Director of National Intelligence, he wants him to make sweeping personnel cuts and major changes to the U.S. intelligence community, in particular taking aim at…
— Brian Schwartz (@schwartzbWSJ) June 5, 2026
President Trump said he wants Bill Pulte, his incoming acting director of national intelligence, to begin the process of firing a large number of employees as part of a shake-up of the U.S. intelligence community.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal on Friday, Trump said he has privately told Pulte that he believes the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, or ODNI, which oversees 18 federal intelligence agencies and units, is “unnecessary and/or too big.”
“I’d like to see it smaller. I think there are a lot of people in there that shouldn’t be there,” Trump said, pointing to holdovers from the Biden and Obama administrations. Asked whether he is calling on Pulte to fire people, Trump said he wants him to “start the process,” adding that his eventual nominee to serve in the role permanently should continue that work.
Trump stunned many of his own advisers when he said earlier this week that he was appointing Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, as his intelligence chief. The move was met with skepticism from some Republicans on Capitol Hill, who raised concerns about Pulte’s lack of national-security experience.
The president named Pulte director of national intelligence on an acting basis, a temporary role that doesn’t require Senate confirmation. He can serve in the role for 210 days.
Trump, in the interview, argued that Pulte’s acting status is an asset. “You’re less shackled,” he said. “It sort of gives you more power, you know, for a somewhat limited period of time.”
Good. I really like how Trump thinks. He’s continuing the work that he began when he first came into office, and this is a long time coming. Let’s do it!