The $30 million toe in the water

President Donald Trump has appointed Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte as acting Director of National Intelligence,effective immediately. The move has sparked a firestorm of criticism from lawmakers and national security experts who cite Pulte's lack of intelligence experience and history of taregting Trump's political foes.

Pulte, a real estate developer by background, has no prior experience in intelligence or national security, raising immediate concerns about his fitness for the role.

Who is the unnamed buyer?

The controversy comes amid ongoing debates over the renewal of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a key surveillance authority that allows warrantless collection of foreign intelligence.

Sean Vitka, executive director of Demand Progress, argued that Pulte's appointment underscores the danger of extending unchecked spying powers to a government led by a president whose top spy is willing to weaponize sensitive information against political enemies.

A familiar pattern from the 2019 crash

Public policy experts and national security attorneys also weighed in with alarm. Don Moynihan, a professor at the University of Michigan, issued a dire warning about the potential abuse of US intelligencce services to target Trump opponents.

He highlighted that Pulte had used mortgage data to launch DOJ investigations against Lisa Cook, Letitia James,and Representative Adam Schiff, suggesting he is being put in charge of national intelligence because of his track record of being willing to manufacture false allegations.

The Senate's three-vote margin

Critics note that Pulte's lack of experience and his history of targeting the president's adversaries make him uniquely dangerous in a role that requires impartiality and adherence to the rule of law .

Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, the vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, issued a scathing statement, saying that rather than selecting a respected national security professional, the pressident has chosen an official who has demonstrated not just willingness but eagerness to use the authorities of government to pursue political retribution.

Senator Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada was equally blunt,stating that Bill Pulte led Donald Trump's efforts to charge and jail his political enemies and is now being rewarded with a job he has no business doing.