U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 9, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
On Tuesday morning, the New York Times' Maggie Gallagher reported that President Donald Trump had appointed MAGA loyalist Bill Pulte as acting national intelligence director despite the fact that he "has no known background in intelligence, military or national security." According to journalist Derek Thompson, the Pulte appointment is a glaring example of Trump's willingness to promote his loyalists to key positions that they are woefully unqualified for.
Linking to Gallagher's reporting on Pulte on X, formerly Twitter, Thompson (known for his writing for The Atlantic) tweeted, "'Late Kakistocracy' is that phase of democratic decline where the regime starts running out of ppl who will work for it, and so the folks who aren't qualified for their current positions are promoted to even larger positions for which they are even more unqualified."
The term "kakistocracy" comes from two Greek words: "kákistos" (worst) and "krátos" (rule). And together, they mean "government by the worst people."
Trump's Pulte appointment follows the resignation of Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman turned MAGA Republican, as national intelligence director. Gabbard said she was stepping down to care for her husband, Abraham Williams, who was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer.
Pulte's focus in the second Trump administration has been housing. In 2025, he became director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) as well as chairman of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But none of his previous experience in the administration, according to Gallagher, pertained to national security.
Gallagher reported, "Mr. Pulte has no known background in intelligence, military or national security, but he is a Trump loyalist who has been among the most aggressive advocates for prosecuting Democrats and others perceived by Mr. Trump as having crossed him…. Mr. Pulte will continue to run the housing agency while taking on the position of director of national intelligence."
In order to take over the national security director position permanently, Pulte will need to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
"On paper, the director of national intelligence, a role created after the September 11 terrorist attacks, is among the most powerful of Cabinet positions, responsible for coordinating the work of the CIA and a host of other agencies," Gallagher noted. "But Mr. Trump has never seen it as an important role, his advisers have said previously, and in his first term, he believed the staff working for that office were leaking information about him."
Gallagher added, "The fact that Mr. Pulte will serve in an acting role, as opposed to facing Republican senators during a confirmation hearing for the job, could give him a freer hand in focusing on priorities the president cares about, including looking for evidence that his election loss in 2020 stemmed from fraud, something that Ms. Gabbard was already pursuing."