It’s a “precarious day for our country,” MS NOW’s Nicolle Wallace said in her opening of “Deadline: White House” — because President Donald Trump got his chosen partisan loyalist in charge of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
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“Donald Trump’s personal political attack dog, Bill Pulte, officially assum[es] the role of acting Director of National Intelligence today,” said Wallace. “It’s a job for which Pulte has zero qualifications except for his unwavering loyalty to Donald Trump.”
And already there are huge red flags showing, she noted, as Pulte — whom experts already warned was likely to try to use the office to interfere in the midterm elections on Trump’s behalf — is planning a top-to-bottom housecleaning to install people who will help him do it.
“Pulte showed up at his new job a day early on Thursday after asking for a list of every employee in the office so he could assess whether to fire them,” said Wallace, relying on new CNN reports. Specifically, he “is eyeing to cut hundreds of jobs … and his appearance at the headquarters “caught staff off guard, including the outgoing director, Tulsi Gabbard, who was given a brief heads up on the visit,” since Trump had previously said Friday would be his first day.
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So far, Wallace said, Pulte’s experience “includes serving as the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, where he drummed up mortgage fraud cases against Trump’s perceived enemies.” Meanwhile, even Republican lawmakers were so outraged over the appointment that Trump had to nominate federal prosecutor Jay Clayton for the permanent role instead. However, Trump delayed the hearing last minute to ensure Pulte would get at least some time in charge.
Trump, after all, has proven himself “if nothing else erratic,” Wallace noted. And now Pulte is free to pursue his “plans to purge the office.”
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