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There’s been some speculation about her possible successor, and while the president hasn’t formally announced his new nominee, on Tuesday morning he published a statement on his social media platform alerting the public to his acting DNI choice. The missive read in its entirety:

I am appointing the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and Chairman of Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, William J. Pulte, to serve as Acting Director of National Intelligence. William has deep experience managing the most sensitive matters in America, the safety and soundness of the Markets, and over 10 Trillion Dollars at Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, a substantial increase from where it was just 12 months ago. During this period, he will remain Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and Chairman of Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac. Congratulations to Director Pulte!

When identifying the single most outlandish personnel move of Trump’s second term, the competition is admittedly fierce, though this has to be near the top of the list.

Pulte has no experience whatsoever working in or around the U.S. intelligence community, and no experience in the military or national security. He has earned a reputation as a hyperpartisan Trump loyalist who’s tried to use his office to target the White House’s political opponents.....

To an almost cartoonish degree, the Trump sycophant has taken it upon himself to target one White House foe after another, weaponizing mortgage fraud allegations against the president’s perceived political enemies, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, Sen. Adam Schiff and Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook.

What does this work have to do with serving as the acting director of national intelligence? By any reasonable measure, nothing, though for Trump, who clearly wants unflinching loyalists in as many key positions as possible, Pulte’s antics are a key selling point.....

Others have been far less impressed. The Government Accountability Office, an independent and nonpartisan investigative watchdog for Congress, opened an investigation into Pulte’s alleged abuses in the fall, and around the same time, MS NOW reported that a federal grand jury in Maryland was investigating whether Pulte and Justice Department official Ed Martin illegally shared sensitive grand jury information with unauthorized people.

With a background like this, common sense suggests it would be wise to keep Pulte as far away from the ODNI as possible. Alas, in this White House, common sense is apparently in short supply.....

Senate Majority Leader John Thune admitted as much on Tuesday morning, saying, “We don’t need a weaponized DNI, we need professionals there. … If he’s somebody we want in that position permanently, he’s got a lengthy road ahead of him.”