Trump says he wants his new acting director of national intelligence to cut the office

Trump says he wants his new acting director of national intelligence to cut the office 1 of 5 | President Donald Trump waves as he boards Air Force One, Friday, June 5, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) 2 of 5 | President Donald Trump waves from the stairs of Air Force One upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Friday, June 5, 2026.(AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez) 3 of 5 | President Donald Trump waves from the stairs of Air Force One upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Friday, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez) 4 of 5 | Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency Bill Pulte, speaks to reporters at the White House, July 24, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File) 5 of 5 | Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency Bill Pulte speaks with reporters at the White House, Sept. 2, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File) By MICHELLE L. PRICE and SEUNG MIN KIM Updated 8:50 PM MESZ, June 5, 2026 Leer en español Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (AP) — President Donald Trump said on Friday that he wants his new acting director of national intelligence, Bill Pulte, to cut the office, which has already been significantly scaled back during his second term. Trump noted that the size of the office has been “way too high for way too long” and that “if he cut, I wouldn’t mind that.” “He’ll do a very good job,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One as he traveled to Wisconsin for an event on agriculture. “He’ll watch it closely, but Bill Pulte is very good, he’s very talented.” Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency Bill Pulte, speaks to reporters at the White House, July 24, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File) The Republican president said in an earlier interview with The Wall Street Journal that he has asked Pulte to start the process of firing employees. In the interview, Trump said he has already conveyed his view to Pulte, who has served as head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency but has no apparent national security expertise. “I’d like to see it smaller. I think there are a lot of people in there that shouldn’t be there,” Trump said, which the Journal said was in reference to intelligence community officials who had served in the Democratic administrations of Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama. Trump taps housing regulator Pulte to be acting director of national intelligence Trump says Pulte won’t be his nominee for director of national intelligence Senate blocks extending key surveillance program following backlash over Trump pick to lead intel Trump told the Journal that he wants Pulte to “start the process” of firing personnel and that the eventual permanent director of national intelligence should continue it. The president has indicated that he would not formally nominate Pulte for the position. “Frankly, it might be good for him to shake it up before people come,” Trump said. “Because, if he (Pulte) reduced the size, in conjunction with me … and in conjunction with possibly the person coming in … he can do a lot of the hard work and we wouldn’t have to saddle somebody that goes in.” Pulte was tapped by the president earlier this week in a surprising move that has been met with bipartisan resistance in the Senate, which confirms presidential nominations. The temporary appointment has now snarled the renewal of a critical national security surveillance program on Capitol Hill, with Democrats key to the vote pointing out that they did not trust Pulte — whose office oversees 18 intelligence agencies — to help administer the surveillance program. Trump told reporters on Air Force One that Pulte will stay in the position depending on how long it takes to get his successor confirmed. The president also said he was considering five people who were “all very good, all people that you know very well, all people that do that kind of thing.” “They’re very respected people,” Trump said of his intelligence candidates, without naming them. President Donald Trump waves from the stairs of Air Force One upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Friday, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez) Under Pulte’s predecessor, Tulsi Gabbard, the DNI office had already taken steps to scale back its size. In August, the Trump administration said that the office’s budget would be cut by more than $700 million per year, while slashing the size of its workforce. At the time, Gabbard said the office had become “bloated and inefficient” while she announced the roughly 40% workforce reduction. Tulsi Gabbard speaks during a meeting at Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 2014. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki) Gabbard resigned last month after revealing her husband’s cancer diagnosis. MICHELLE L. PRICE Price covers the White House. She previously covered the 2024 presidential campaign and politics, government and other news in New York, Nevada, Utah and Arizona. She is based in Washington. twitter mailto SEUNG MIN KIM Kim covers the White House for The Associated Press. She joined the AP in 2022 and is based in Washington. Kim is also a political analyst for CNN. twitter mailto