{"id":613820,"date":"2026-06-05T21:20:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T21:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/?p=613820"},"modified":"2026-06-05T21:20:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T21:20:00","slug":"trump-tells-less-shackled-pulte-to-fire-intelligence-officials-as-senate-blocks-fisa-extension-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/?p=613820","title":{"rendered":"Trump Tells “Less Shackled” Pulte To Fire Intelligence Officials As Senate Blocks FISA Extension"},"content":{"rendered":"

Trump Tells “Less Shackled” Pulte To Fire Intelligence Officials As Senate Blocks FISA Extension<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n

When has the Senate ever not increased government spy powers? When President Trump installs Bill Pulte as acting DNI and instructs him to start kicking hornet nests, apparently.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

In a WSJ<\/em>\u00a0interview<\/a> published Friday, Trump revealed he has directed incoming acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte to begin the process of firing a large number of employees<\/strong> as part of a major shake-up of the U.S. intelligence community. Trump described the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) as \u201cunnecessary and\/or too big\u201d and said he wants it made \u201cmuch smaller\u201d – and possibly even terminated.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d like to see it smaller. I think there are a lot of people in there that shouldn\u2019t be there<\/strong>,\u201d Trump said, targeting holdovers from prior administrations. He told Pulte to \u201cstart the process\u201d of firings, noting that Pulte\u2019s acting status makes him \u201cless shackled\u201d<\/strong> and gives him more power in the short term to do the \u201chard work\u201d of downsizing before a permanent director is confirmed. Trump compared the approach to Education Secretary Linda McMahon\u2019s efforts to shrink her department.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This aggressive move comes as the Senate early Friday morning blocked a procedural motion to extend a key provision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA)<\/strong>, in a 47-52 vote that saw seven Republicans join nearly all Democrats in opposition. The timing of Trump\u2019s decision to name federal housing finance regulator Pulte<\/strong> as acting Director of National Intelligence played a central role in the backlash.<\/p>\n

Senate Majority Leader John Thune acknowledged that “the naming of Pulte to that position, although the timing arguably wasn’t the best,” still should not derail such a critical national security measure according<\/a> to AP<\/em>. However, the backlash proved too strong.<\/p>\n