Trump forced into U-turn after Republican outrage over his new intel chief selection

By ELINA SHIRAZI, US SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER Published: 16:59, 10 June 2026 | Updated: 17:29, 10 June 2026 President Donald Trump made a dramatic 180-degree turn on his selection for the nation's top spy chief. Taking to Truth Social, Trump revealed he is actively searching for a permanent, national-security-tested replacement to lead the Office of the Director of National Intelligence - but in the meantime, he has tapped his highly unconventional, fierce loyalist to immediately swing the axe at the agency. '[I] have asked him to execute the immediate and needed downsizing of the office, reverting staff to their home agencies,' Trump writes in his post, before writing that he is looking for a permanent replacement at ODNI.  Trump announced that Pulte, the 38-year-old current chief of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, will still take the reins as acting DNI on June 19th following the sudden resignation of Tulsi Gabbard. This change in tone from Trump comes after House Speaker Mike Johnson met with him in the Oval Office on Tuesday afternoon, pressing him to consider a different nominee in a bid to ease the Democratic opposition threatening FISA's renewal. In his Truth Social post, Trump writes that FISA is important to the administration, the military and keeping Americans safe, 'especially during the World Cup and America250 Celebrations.' 'If nothing is done, this important Law will expire this week. I am asking Congress to send me a short-term extension of FISA to provide time for the selection and confirmation of a permanent Head of the Agency,' Trump wrote.  Earlier reporting claimed their meeting 'didn't go very well,' with Trump pushing back on Johnson's suggestion that he needed to placate Democrats, according to Politico. This change in tone comes Trump comes after Johnson met with him in the Oval Office on Tuesday afternoon, pressing him to consider a different nominee in a bid to ease the Democratic opposition threatening FISA's renewal The President waved off warnings that his controversial choice, Bill Pulte, could drive Democrats to block the reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Trump has rebuffed House Speaker Mike Johnson's plea to drop his pick to replace Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence As for Johnson, he told reporters the briefing with the President went well but wouldn't go into specifics, before criticizing Democrats for holding FISA powers 'hostage.' Intelligence officials consider FISA one of their most valuable tools for tracking foreign threats, and warn that a lapse would leave agencies in the dark on terrorist networks, spies and cyber adversaries.  Pulte's elevation to the post has drawn anger from lawmakers in both parties. Sources tell the Daily Mail that several top advisors vehemently doubted the decision-making, panicking over Pulte's absolute lack of intelligence or national security credentials. However, a defiant Trump has fought back aggressively against the internal dissent, only softening his stance now.  Gabbard announced in May that she would be resigning from Trump's cabinet due to her husband's rare bone cancer.  Trump elevated Pulte, a longtime aide and current director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, as her replacement.  The President, however, does not plan to formally nominate Pulte, who will instead serve on an acting basis.  Pulte is replacing Tulsi Gabbard who resigned last month due to her husband's rare bone cancer  Pulte's elevation to the post has drawn anger from lawmakers in both parties over his lack of national security experience Installing him temporarily lets the White House sidestep congressional scrutiny, since an acting appointment does not require Senate confirmation.  'You're less shackled,' Trump said last week when discussing Pulte's status. 'It sort of gives you more power, you know, for a somewhat limited period of time.' Trump added that he plans for Pulte to purge the intelligence community of holdovers from the Obama and Biden administrations. The President told Pulte that the 18 agencies that he now oversees are 'unnecessary and/or too big.'  Trump told the Wall Street Journal: 'I'd like to see it smaller. I think there are a lot of people in there that shouldn't be there.'   The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. 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