The Wall Street Journal reports:

President Trump said he wants Bill Pulte, his incoming acting director of national intelligence, to begin firing a large number of employees as part of a shake-up of the U.S. intelligence community.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal on Friday, Trump said he has privately told Pulte that he believes the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, or ODNI, which oversees 18 federal intelligence agencies and units, was “unnecessary and/or too big.”

“I’d like to see it smaller. I think there are a lot of people in there that shouldn’t be there,” Trump said, pointing to holdovers from the Biden and Obama administrations. Asked whether he is calling on Pulte to fire people, Trump said he wants him to “start the process,” adding that his eventual nominee to serve in the role permanently should continue that work.

Trump stunned many of his own advisers when he said earlier this week that he was appointing Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, as his intelligence chief. The move was met with skepticism from some Republicans on Capitol Hill, who raised concerns about Pulte’s lack of national-security experience.

The president named Pulte director of national intelligence on an acting basis, a temporary role that doesn’t require Senate confirmation. He can serve in the role for 210 days.

Trump, in the interview, argued that Pulte’s acting status is an asset. “You’re less shackled,” he said. “It sort of gives you more power, you know, for a somewhat limited period of time.”

The president said he hopes Pulte can begin making changes across the intelligence community before a permanent intelligence director is confirmed.

“Frankly, it might be good for him to shake it up before people come,” Trump said. “Because, if he [Pulte] reduced the size, in conjunction with me…and in conjunction with possibly the person coming in…he can do a lot of the hard work and we wouldn’t have to saddle somebody that goes in.” [Continue reading…]