Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) addresses reporters on Tuesday. Credit: C-SPAN 2 screenshot
Key GOP Senators, including Senate Majority Leader Thune, are signaling they will be throwing the new acting DNI chief to the wolves. And one powerful Democrat senator is poised to take advantage.
As The Gateway Pundit reported, President Trump announced on Tuesday that Bill Pulte, Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and Chairman of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, will serve as acting Director of National Intelligence, replacing Tulsi Gabbard.
Trump also said that Pulte will remain Director of FHFA and the Chairman of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac while serving as acting DNI. Pulte is also a huge favorite of Trump’s and extremely loyal to the president.
But Thune appears poised to knife Trump and Pulte in the back. Per The Hill, this is what he told reporters after hearing about the appointment.
“We don’t need a weaponized Director of National Intelligence,” Thune said. “We need professionals there.”
Thune also declined to say whether Pulte had the experience for the job and deferred to Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas.
He also declined to support Pulte.
“I have no observations on the matter,” he told CNN’s Manu Raju.
WATCH:
RAJU: Do you think Bill Pulte has the experience to be acting DNI?
THUNE: I’ll defer to Chairman Cotton
COTTON: We have 4 more weeks with Director Gabbard as the DNI
RAJU: And Pulte?
COTTON: I have no observations on the matter pic.twitter.com/9wgviwRMKP
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 2, 2026
And then there’s outgoing RINO Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who angrily lashed out against Pulte.
“Whoever told the president to go ahead and commit to this publicly before vetting it should lose their jobs,” he said.
Sen. Thom Tillis slammed Bill Pulte as President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the U.S. intelligence community: “Whoever told the president to go ahead and commit to this publicly before vetting it should lose their jobs.” pic.twitter.com/UPWdf3G9Vp
— CNBC (@CNBC) June 3, 2026
Now, Democrats are smelling blood in the water. Punchbowl News reports that Warner is now issuing a threat to Thune: get Trump to ditch Pulte as DNI chief, or we likely won’t go along with reauthorizing FISA.
From Punchbowl News:
Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chair Mark Warner (D-Va.) asked Senate Majority Leader John Thune on Tuesday to use his influence with the White House to reverse Trump’s move to install Pulte as overseer of the nation’s 18 intelligence agencies, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
Warner, who’s been critical in building Democratic support for a bipartisan deal to extend FISA Section 702, made clear to Thune that all options are on the table to reverse what Democrats see as a dangerous Trump pick to lead ODNI.
From Warner’s perspective, it’s impossible to convince enough Democrats to support a reauthorization of Section 702 when Pulte would be the one overseeing the program. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has also privately told senators that the Pulte appointment makes passing a FISA deal much more difficult.
The threat is indeed real, as Thune has repeatedly stated that America cannot afford to let FISA expire. Moreover, Punchbowl News notes that there are enough Republicans to block the legislation if the Democrats refuse to play ball.
Republicans can’t pass a FISA reauthorization on their own. With a handful of GOP senators expected to oppose any FISA agreement, Thune would likely need at least a dozen Democrats to support the bill. Without a big vote in the Senate, it’ll be difficult for the House to pass it via a fast-track process ahead of the June 12 deadline. It’s safe to say that Pulte’s appointment kills any chance of the House passing FISA using the fast-track suspension process.
Steve Bannon absolutely went off upon hearing about Warner’s scheming, along with Thune and Cotton’s cowardly stances. He also alleged they were colluding with the loathsome Virginian Democrat.
BANNON: John Thune and Tom Cotton are working with Mark Warner to CONSPIRE AGAINST THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF IN A TIME OF WAR! pic.twitter.com/7C1pO1W1Nc
— Bannon’s WarRoom (@Bannons_WarRoom) June 3, 2026
The post Profiles in Cowardice: GOP Senators Already Turning on Acting DNI Chief Bill Pulte as Democrat Senator Mark Warner Huddles with John Thune (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.