00:02Just two days after naming Bill Pulte to lead the nation's intelligence community,
00:07President Trump is already making one thing clear.
00:10This is not a long-term job.
00:12Trump told reporters Thursday that Pulte's appointment as acting director of national intelligence is only temporary
00:19and that the White House is already interviewing candidates for the permanent role.
00:23Pulte currently runs the Federal Housing Finance Agency and oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
00:28He has no known intelligence or national security background.
00:33And it's an acting position. It's not a problem.
00:35He's not going to be permanent because, you know, I don't think he'd want to be permanent.
00:39But he's a very smart guy and you may find out some things about the rigged elections, etc., etc.
00:44I think he'd like to do it. I'd like to.
00:46I think he wants to do it very much. Got a lot of energy.
00:50But he'll be very good.
00:52Again, it's not a permanent position.
00:54We're looking at, we're interviewing people right now, but it's somebody just to take it over for a little while.
01:00The pick has drawn criticism from both parties.
01:03On Tuesday, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries blasted this election.
01:08The appointment of Bill Pulte as the acting director of national intelligence
01:17is another indication of how unserious, reckless and dangerous Donald Trump and his administration are
01:25with respect to the national security of the American people.
01:29On X, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote,
01:33Pulte is, quote, a partisan thug with no experience in intelligence.
01:37But Trump defended the choice, saying Pulte is smart, has high integrity, and can figure the job out quickly.
01:44And as you just heard in the soundbite, Trump also suggested Pulte could look into what he again described as
01:49rigged elections.
01:50A comment that's already drawn some attention given former DNI Tulsi Gabbard's high-profile appearance
01:57at an FBI seizure of election records in Fulton County, Georgia earlier this year.
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