Bill Pulte may be out of a job, but he hasn't walked out the door. The Senate on Tuesday confirmed Jay Clayton to be the new director of national intelligence (DNI), replacing Pulte in a role President Trump said would only be temporary. Yet the White House has departed from the usual practice of swiftly swearing in the newly confirmed official, leaving Clayton waiting for days.
The delay has infuriated Democrats and puzzled Republicans on the Senate Intelligence Committee, who argue it's time for Pulte to return to his full-time job at the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) called the situation "spectacularly bizarre," adding that he's never seen anything like it. "I've never heard anybody doing such a thing. I mean, that's the way it is with these guys," he said, suggesting the administration defies "logic."
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), the top Democrat on the panel, described the situation as "amazing," but "in a horrible way." "It's baffling," he added.
Trump has repeatedly aided Pulte, who at FHFA recommended criminal prosecution of four Trump foes for mortgage fraud. Pulte was tapped to lead the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) on an acting basis, but his selection was so unpopular among both parties that Trump quickly clarified it would be short-term. He hoped the temporary assignment would make Pulte "less shackled" and allow him to shake up the intelligence community with widespread firings.
The Senate moved quickly to confirm Clayton, even attempting to schedule a vote the week he was nominated, but Trump stalled the process by ordering Clayton not to appear for his own hearing. Many Senate-confirmed nominees are sworn in the same day the chamber approves them.
On the day Clayton was set for a vote, Pulte announced via X that he had completed a fifth round of layoffs at ODNI during his roughly 40 days at the agency.
Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) called the situation "a terrible idea," noting that "his successor has been confirmed. There's no earthly reason he should stay there another five minutes." He added, "You can only interpret this as some kind of mischief. There's no substantive intelligence reason he should stay there." The White House did not respond to requests for comment.
While Republicans didn't criticize Pulte personally, many expressed eagerness for Clayton to take over. Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) said, "I'm ready for Jay to be sworn in. Nothing opposed to Bill on that, but we got a permanent guy. I like having a permanent guy in the position. Once it's confirmed, let's get him in the chair because there's some decisions that can only be made by the actual Senate confirmed individual."
The delay also complicates the renewal of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows the government to spy on foreigners abroad. Democrats have refused to renew the tool while Pulte remains in office, and the Senate has just one more week in session to take up the FISA bill.
Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) stressed the urgency: "Jay Clayton is the right guy for the job. The sooner we can get him in, the better off we are, and the sooner we can get back to getting the additional legislation completed that we need. FISA 702 needs to be put back in place as quickly as possible."
Pulte has signaled he's still working, sharing on Wednesday that he met with the National Counterterrorism Center. It was one of his few posts since taking the job on June 19 that didn't involve layoffs or declassified documents. "Our Team at NCTC keeps Americans safe, does an incredible job, and is filled with hard working American Patriots," he wrote.
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) said it's time for "the temp" to move on. "I saw something this morning that said he doesn't want to go. He needs more time. There is now a Senate-confirmed nominee who should get sworn in today and put in the job today, and Bill Pulte should go back to whatever he was doing in housing," Kelly said. "It's usually immediate. So what's going on? So I think we can have that FISA discussion when Clayton is actually the DNI in the office, and the other guy, the temporary — the temp — is gone."
