Trump Appoints William J. Pulte as Acting Director of National Intelligence

WASHINGTON, June 4, 2026 — President Trump appointed William J. Pulte as acting director of national intelligence, the White House announced today.

The move places Pulte in charge of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which coordinates the work of 18 separate intelligence agencies and manages classification and declassification policy across the federal government. Pulte previously oversaw security protocols for highly classified programs and directed large-scale institutional reforms.

The appointment shifts leadership from the prior acting director immediately upon Pulte’s acceptance. No Senate confirmation is required for the acting role, allowing the position to transition without delay under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act.

Downstream effects include new direction on declassification reviews already underway, updated security-clearance adjudication standards for thousands of personnel, and revised tasking priorities for the National Intelligence Council’s annual threat assessments.

Congress will receive the next mandated annual intelligence authorization bill under Pulte’s signature, and the acting director must appear before the House and Senate intelligence committees for oversight hearings within the standard 30-day window.

Agency heads at the CIA, NSA, and Defense Intelligence Agency now report through Pulte’s chain of command for all interagency matters.

This marks the second Trump administration appointment to a top intelligence post that emphasizes administrative overhaul and information-security reform. The first Trump term saw similar emphasis on reducing leaks and accelerating declassification of historical records.

Pulte’s background includes direct experience protecting sensitive compartmented information and executing statutory reorganizations of multi-billion-dollar government components.