U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) speaks as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies before a Senate Finance Committee hearing on President Donald Trump’s 2026 Health Agenda on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, USA, September 4, 2025.
Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters
Federal Housing Finance Agency chief Bill Pulte does not appear to be “competent” to serve as acting director of national intelligence, outgoing Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy said during an interview Tuesday at CNBC’s CEO Council Summit.
Cassidy, who recently failed to qualify for a runoff in Louisiana’s Republican primary after President Donald Trump endorsed one of his challengers, Rep. Julia Letlow, R-La., said his Senate colleagues were surprised by the president’s nomination of Pulte as spy chief Tuesday morning.
“There is nothing here to suggest that he is competent for the job he was appointed to do,” Cassidy said. “It’s just kind of a conversation with my colleagues, like OMG.”
“He has no military background, no intelligence background, he will … keep his other job, and he’s not even sure if he has a security clearance,” Cassidy said.
Intelligence veterans warned that Pulte was ill-prepared for the job and could jeopardize the quality of U.S. intelligence as he targets Trump’s domestic enemies from his position.
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Cassidy said he was unsure whether he would support Pulte as the DNI candidate, even though Pulte has not been officially nominated for the post. Pulte can serve as acting DNI for a limited time without Senate approval.
“The problem with action sometimes is that people act forever,” Cassidy said, referring to Julie Su, who served as acting labor secretary during the Biden administration.
Cassidy is not the first Republican to raise concerns about Pulte’s qualifications. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who also lost a contested primary last month, said earlier in the day that he doesn’t believe Pulte is qualified.
The Louisiana senator also warned of the possibility that Pulte could stay longer than his allowed term.
“Sometimes things that aren’t permanent become quite permanent,” he said.
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