Key congressional intelligence leaders have yet to speak with President Donald Trump‘s new acting director of national intelligence, Bill Pulte, a striking reality as Congress races to reauthorize a key surveillance authority before a June 12 deadline.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rick Crawford (R-AR) told the Washington Examiner on Wednesday that he has not met with Pulte and has no immediate plans to do so.
“I imagine at some point in time,” Crawford told the Washington Examiner on Wednesday, for a possible face-to-face. “I’ve never met him, so I don’t know when I’ll have the opportunity to do that.”
Crawford withheld judgment on Pulte’s qualifications as the real estate mogul and social media personality faces criticism from lawmakers over his lack of national security experience. Pulte currently serves as the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and chairman of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Other members of the House and Senate intelligence committees also said they had not spoken with Pulte since Trump announced his appointment on Tuesday.
“Never met him in my life,” Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), a former FBI supervisory special agent and member of the House Intelligence Committee, told the Washington Examiner. “That’s part of the problem. I’m a career IC guy. Never met him before.”
Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL), another House Intelligence Committee member, told the Washington Examiner that Pulte “doesn’t seem qualified” and that he has “never met him.”
Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD), a senior member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told the Washington Examiner he also has not met Pulte but encouraged the White House to become more involved in light of the looming FISA deadline.
“The executive branch needs to assist us because we need to get 702 through and complete it,” said Rounds. “If this is in the way or is going to hold it up because of Democrat opposition, public Democrat opposition, I think we’re going to need the White House or the executive branch to get involved in helping us address the issue.”
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton (R-AR) did not respond to a request for comment regarding whether Cotton had plans to speak or meet with Pulte.
Support for Pulte has become important as both the House and the Senate contend with reauthorizing FISA. The tool, which is used to surveil foreign nationals, has long been criticized for inadvertently capturing the data and records of U.S. citizens who come into contact with suspects.
But there are also concerns Pulte, who used his housing finance perch to criminally refer Trump political opponents to the Justice Department over allegations of mortgage fraud, may similarly weaponize intelligence. As such, Democrats are threatening to oppose an extension of FISA.
“His supposed elevation as the acting director of National Intelligence will jeopardize the effort to pass surveillance legislation, that was already on life support,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) on Tuesday.
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House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) defended Trump’s “prerogative” to appoint whomever he desired before arguing Democrats were being “absolutely outrageous” for making the reauthorization of FISA contingent on Pulte’s appointment being revoked. The White House echoed the sentiment in a statement to the Washington Examiner.
“Bill Pulte is a great selection and he will do a great job on behalf of the American people,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle said. “Holding FISA hostage puts America’s national security at risk and it is shameful that some Democrats are threatening to put partisan politics ahead of the safety of the American people.”