Cassidy: Pulte not ‘competent’ for intelligence director role

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 taken aback by the president’s appointment of Pulte as spy chief on Tuesday morning.

“Nothing here suggests he’s competent in the job for which he’s been appointed,” Cassidy said. “That’s just kind of the kind of conversation with my colleagues, like OMG.”

“He has no military background, no intelligence background, he’s going to … keep his other job, and he’s not even sure he has a security clearance,” Cassidy said.

Intelligence community veterans warned that Pulte is ill-prepared for the job and could risk the quality of U.S. intelligence while using the perch to take aim at Trump’s domestic foes.

Cassidy said he’s unsure if he would back Pulte as a DNI nominee, although Pulte has not been officially nominated for the post. Pulte can serve for a limited time as an acting DNI unapproved by the Senate.

“The problem with acting is sometimes people act forever,” Cassidy said, pointing to Julie Su, who served as the acting labor secretary during the Biden administration.

Cassidy is not the first Republican to express concern over Pulte’s qualifications. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who also lost a contested primary last month, said earlier in the day that he does not believe Pulte is qualified.

The Louisiana senator also warned about the possibility that Pulte could stick around for longer than his allowed tenure.

“Sometimes things that are not permanent become quite permanent,” he said.