President Donald Trump defended his pick of Bill Pulte as his acting national intelligence head Wednesday and called for Congress to pass a short-term extension of a key warrantless surveillance program that is set to expire Friday.

What You Need To Know

  • President Donald Trump defended his pick of Bill Pulte as his acting national intelligence head Wednesday and called for Congress to pass a short-term extension of a key warrantless surveillance program that is set to expire Friday

  • Pulte, who is currently serving as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, where he oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, is slated to succeed outgoing national intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard, who is set to step down as of June 30

  • In a social media post shortly before Wednesday’s bill signing event, Trump said Pulte will take over as acting director of national intelligence as of June 19, and called on Congress to pass a short-term FISA extension “to provide time for the selection and confirmation of a permanent” director of national intelligence

  • Pulte’s nomination has faced bipartisan pushback in Congress with some lawmakers citing their concerns over his credentials as the reason they are not supporting an extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA

Pulte, who is currently serving as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, where he oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, is slated to succeed outgoing director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who is set to step down later this month.

“I put him in charge as soon as I got here, and he's done an amazing job,” Trump told reporters.

In a social media post shortly before Wednesday’s bill signing event, Trump said Pulte will take over as acting director of national intelligence as of June 19. The president wrote he has tasked Pulte with executing “immediate and needed downsizing of the office, reverting staff to their home agencies.”

Trump said that Pulte would hold the role “for a short while while we pick somebody else” and that five people were being interviewed for the intelligence position. 

Pulte’s nomination has faced bipartisan pushback in Congress with some lawmakers citing their concerns over his credentials as the reason they are not supporting an extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA. 

The law allows intelligence agencies to collect and analyze communications of foreign targets outside of the U.S. without warrants –– including their calls and correspondence with Americans. Some lawmakers and privacy advocates have called for a warrant requirement before records of Americans could be reviewed. 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., criticized his colleagues across the aisle Tuesday and said Republicans would push to not let the program lapse. He also told reporters that he was encouraging the White House to nominate a permanent director of national intelligence

"Getting some certainty and closure on that issue — about who that might be — will certainly play an important role in unlocking the support that we need to get FISA done,” he said. “We've got a midnight Friday deadline now. The clock is ticking.”

A group of Senate Democrats — including the ranking member on the Intelligence Committee, Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va. — had been in negotiations with their GOP colleagues over an extension but backed out following Pulte’s appointment, leading the bill to fail in a 47-52 procedural vote Friday.

Warner said in a video he posted Wednesday that he voted against the surveillance law last week because he “couldn’t support this critical intelligence gathering tool knowing Pulte will soon have unfettered access to our most sensitive information."

On Wednesday, the president called on Congress to pass a "short-term" FISA extension “to provide time for the selection and confirmation of a permanent” director of national intelligence.

Trump wrote that surveillance law is “very important to our Military, and keeping the American People safe, especially during the World Cup and America250 Celebrations” in his post.  

The men’s FIFA World Cup is scheduled to kick off this week with matches in the U.S., Mexico and Canada, and there are a number of celebrations tied to the semiquincentennial planned for the coming month, including the UFC fight to be held Sunday on the South Lawn of the White House. Nationwide celebrations are also planned for the Fourth of July –– the anniversary of the Continental Congress’ adoption of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

Along with his remarks about Pulte, Trump also touted the upcoming World Cup during his remarks Wednesday in the Oval Office to sign a bill funding a pair of Homeland Security agencies through the next three years.

In his Truth Social post and his comments Wednesday, he likened the immigration funding measure to Pulte’s appointment.

“We can't let them extort us,” Trump told reporters. “They've done it on numerous occasions. ... What we're signing today has been amazing, but they tried to extort us.”

The package had faced a monthslong standoff in Congress after Democrats refused to approve the $70 billion for Trump’s immigration agenda following the fatal shootings of two American citizens during protests over ICE enforcement actions earlier this year.

Democrats had sought reforms to immigration enforcement, and Republicans ultimately turned to a complicated procedural maneuver to get around the filibuster and without Democratic support when an agreement couldn’t be reached.