Sen. Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina) questions Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing on February 5, 2026 in Washington, DC.
Nathan Posner | Anadolu | Getty Images
Republican Sen. Thom Tillis on Wednesday denounced President Donald Trump’s choice to lead the U.S. intelligence community as a “seditious attack dog” with no path to confirmation by the Senate.
The retiring North Carolina senator’s comments on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” added to the backlash against Bill Peult, the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, whom President Trump appointed on Tuesday to serve as acting director of national intelligence in addition to his role in housing.
“I don’t think he’s praying” for Pulte to pass the Senate and become a permanent citizen, Tillis said.
Mr. Tillis opposed Mr. Pruitt’s appointment and joined the parade of Republican and Democratic senators. Pruitt has no known intelligence experience, but is considered a Trump supporter who has targeted the president’s political opponents during his tenure leading the Housing Authority.
The move to appoint Mr. Pulte now risks further breakdowns on issues that have been stalled in Congress for weeks, including the reauthorization of key oversight laws. It would also exacerbate a smoldering rift between the president and the Senate, which have repeatedly been enraged by White House moves.
“Whoever told the president to make a public commitment before vetting this should lose his job because they should know that the math is against Pulte’s confirmation,” Tillis said.
But the senator also acknowledged that the Trump administration could avoid the problem by simply keeping Pruitt in the title of “acting” without seeking full confirmation.
Mr. Tillis also suggested that Mr. Pulte’s promotion could jeopardize Congress’ efforts to pass legislation such as reauthorizing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which provides for warrantless surveillance.
Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner (D-Virginia) asked Thune to persuade Trump to rescind Pulte’s appointment, a person familiar with the matter confirmed to MS NOW on Wednesday.
If this reversal does not occur, Warner warned that all options are on the table, including reaching a bipartisan agreement to extend FISA Section 702, the person said.
Mr. Warner said Tuesday that Mr. Pulte’s appointment provided him with a breather.
“The idea of putting in an unqualified person who also has a history of using classified information as a weapon should make me ask, ‘Do you believe us?'” he said.
Mr. Prut used his access to mortgage records at the top of the Federal Housing Authority to target Mr. Trump’s political opponents and prosecute them. This history has alarmed intelligence analysts who warn that Mr. Prut could hold the key to America’s most secretive secrets.
Targets also include Federal Reserve President Lisa Cook and New York State Attorney General Letitia James, who faced allegations of mortgage-related fraud by Mr. Prut.
Tillis said the appointment represented poor decision-making by the White House.
“They need to understand the timing,” he said of the Trump administration. “Whoever these people are in the White House, we need to get them out of the White House once and for all.”
“I’m tired of amateur time,” he added.
President Trump said that while Pruitt will serve as acting DNI, he will continue to serve as FHFA board member and chairman of the mortgage giant. fannie mae And Freddie Mac. Pulte will replace outgoing DNI Tulsi Gabbard, who announced last month that she would step down on June 30th.
Mr. Tillis told CNBC that Mr. Pulte was “removed from the family board the moment the family no longer owned 51% of the company,” and later made such critical comments that “his father and aunt disavowed his involvement with the family trust.”
Mr. Tillis was referring to reports that Mr. Pulte, the scion of the founder of home construction giant Pulte Group, was ousted from the company’s board in 2020 due to disagreements with other directors. The senator also appeared to reference a statement from the Pulte Family Charitable Foundation, which said Bill Pulte, who maintains a very active social media presence, does not represent the family “in any capacity.”
“Why bring it up? Because it suggests a temperament that is probably not appropriate for the DNI role,” Tillis said.
“I don’t think he’s ever been given a security clearance before. He obviously has no intelligence experience, no geopolitical experience, no international connections. Those are the kind of things you would ask for,” Tillis said at the DNI.
“He has a structural problem. He just doesn’t have 51 votes on the Senate floor, and he may not even have the votes of the (Senate Intelligence) Committee. We just need to make that clear to the president.”
The White House reiterated Tuesday’s statement in response to questions about Tillis’ comments Wednesday.
“The president selects the brightest and most talented individuals to serve in his Cabinet,” press secretary Davis Ingle said in an email. “Bill Pelt is a great person and will do a great job representing the American people.”
Tillis is not the only Republican to express concerns about Mr. Pulte.
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), who lost last month’s primary after President Trump supported a rival Republican, said in an interview on CNBC’s CEO Council Summit on Tuesday that Pruitt does not appear to have the “competence” to serve as acting DNI.
“We don’t need a weaponized DNI. We need experts there,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (D) told reporters at the Capitol on Tuesday.
Pruitt has treated other members of his administration badly in the past, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who reportedly came close to clashing with the housing secretary last year.
During Wednesday’s Senate Finance Committee hearing, Tillis asked Bessent if he had actually threatened to punch Mr. Pelt in the face, to which Bessent replied, “I actually said I would kick his butt.”
Bessent added, “That was last summer…A lot of teams fight in the locker room and then go out on the field and try to get a win for their team.”
—CNBC’s Garrett Downs and Luke Fountain contributed to this report.
