{"id":926,"date":"2026-06-03T22:41:20","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T22:41:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=926"},"modified":"2026-06-03T22:41:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T22:41:20","slug":"republican-backlash-intensifies-over-trump-spy-chief-pick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=926","title":{"rendered":"Republican backlash intensifies over Trump spy chief pick"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><div><div><ul><li>Summary<\/li><li>Companies<\/li><\/ul><\/div><div><\/div><\/div><div>WASHINGTON, June 3 (Reuters) &#8211; Two of President Donald Trump&#8217;s cabinet members on Wednesday distanced themselves from his pick of loyalist Bill \u200cPulte to serve as acting U.S. spy chief, as Republican lawmakers criticized his lack of national security experience.<\/div><div>The unusual pushback from members of Trump&#8217;s own party highlighted concerns about his decision to appoint a mortgage regulator with no national security experience to oversee the nation&#8217;s sprawling intelligence apparatus.<\/div><div>Testifying in separate congressional hearings, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury \u200bSecretary Scott Bessent did not defend Trump&#8217;s decision. Bessent clarified that he had not threatened to punch Pulte in the face during \u200ba confrontation last year.<\/div><div>&#8220;I actually said I was going to kick his ass,&#8221; Bessent told lawmakers.<\/div><h2>SOME REPUBLICAN SENATORS WOULDN&#8217;T SUPPORT \u2060NOMINATION<\/h2><div>Several Republican senators said they would not support Pulte if Trump nominated him to serve permanently as director of national intelligence. With a narrow \u200b53-47 majority, Trump&#8217;s Republicans can afford few defections to approve his nominees.<\/div><div>Republican Senator Mitch McConnell said the law that created the job required nominees with extensive \u200bnational security experience.<\/div><div>&#8220;No nominee who falls short of this requirement will earn my vote,&#8221; he said in a statement.<\/div><div>Republican Senator Thom Tillis likewise said he would not support Pulte&#8217;s nomination.<\/div><div>The unusual pushback comes as Trump&#8217;s grip is loosening on Capitol Hill.<\/div><div>Republican lawmakers this week refused to fund his White House ballroom and forced him to shelve a fund that \u200bwould have distributed $1.8 billion to alleged victims of government &#8220;weaponization,&#8221; including those who attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021.<\/div><div>Pulte, an heir to the residential development \u200bfirm PulteGroup, has used his position as head of a low-profile mortgage regulator to push for fraud investigations of several of Trump&#8217;s perceived foes, though none have resulted \u200cin criminal \u2060charges.<\/div><div>Pulte had no national security experience before Trump said he would replace Tulsi Gabbard when her tenure ends on June 30. The interim appointment would last 210 days.<\/div><div>That is seen as an asset by some of Trump&#8217;s supporters.<\/div><div>&#8220;He is independent from the CIA and from other corrupt and politicized elements within our intelligence community. Bill Pulte is committed to exposing the truth to the American people, and is 100% loyal to the president of the United States,&#8221; \u200bRoger Stone, a political operative who \u200bhas worked on and off with \u2060Trump for decades, told Reuters.<\/div><div>The DNI oversees the 18 intelligence agencies that comprise the U.S. intelligence community, including the Central Intelligence Agency.<\/div><div>Pulte&#8217;s appointment comes as the U.S. is embroiled in a war with Iran and confronting other foreign \u200bpolicy challenges, including Russia&#8217;s war on Ukraine and China&#8217;s growing military and financial clout.<\/div><div>Testifying before the House Foreign \u200bAffairs Committee, Rubio, who \u2060also serves as Trump&#8217;s national security adviser, was asked if he knew of Pulte&#8217;s name &#8220;in the context of the intelligence community.&#8221;<\/div><div>&#8220;In the context of intelligence?&#8221; Rubio said. &#8220;No.&#8221;<\/div><div>Bessent told the Senate Banking Committee that his personal differences with Pulte would not affect their work.<\/div><div>&#8220;Many teams squabble in the locker room and go out on the field,&#8221; \u2060he said.<\/div><div>Democratic \u200bSenator Mark Warner of Virginia said he worried Pulte would use his access to top-secret \u200bintelligence to target Trump&#8217;s perceived enemies, as he said he has done with mortgage data.<\/div><div>&#8220;He has weaponized mortgage information,&#8221; said Warner. &#8220;He&#8217;s going to suddenly be given the keys to the most \u200bclassified secrets that keep our country safe.&#8221;<\/div><div><address><div><div><noscript>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"120\" height=\"120\" alt=\"Patricia Zengerle\" class=\"wp-image-764\" src=\"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/01a37831d0f3fb1e5cd1a8d2f7f3d1e5.avif\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/noscript><\/div><div>Patricia Zengerle<\/div><\/div><div><ul><li><span><div><svg><title>Email<\/title><\/svg><\/div><\/span><\/li><li><span><div><svg><title>X<\/title><\/svg><\/div><\/span><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/address><address><div><div><noscript>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"120\" height=\"120\" alt=\"Erin Banco\" class=\"wp-image-526\" src=\"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/5b69aef0fe6e92c58d3fba942a2ddd94.avif\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/noscript><\/div><div>Erin Banco<\/div><\/div><div><ul><li><span><div><svg><title>Email<\/title><\/svg><\/div><\/span><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/address><\/div><\/div><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=924\">US House votes for measure that would end Iran war, in blow to Trump<\/a><\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=922\">Albanians protest over Kushner-linked luxury resort on pristine coastline<\/a><\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=915\">Trump signs order to make it easier to fire 8,000 federal workers<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two of President Donald Trump&#8217;s cabinet members on Wednesday distanced themselves from his pick of loyalist Bill \u200cPulte to serve as acting U.S. spy chief, as Republican lawmakers criticized his lack of national security experience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":925,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[7],"class_list":["post-926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-united-states"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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