IC Workforce & Organization — 2026-06-11

Pulte Sought Gabbards Early Removal as Intelligence Director Setting Off FISA Standoff

BLUFPulte's lack of intelligence credentials has likely made his own removal before October the price of FISA Section 702 reauthorization, a concession Trump's allies are already telegraphing.

Pulte called Gabbard on Tuesday and told her "Today is your last day," which Gabbard refused to accept without hearing it from the president directly, according to Axios citing two officials briefed on the exchange 12. She reached Trump, who did not demand immediate departure and asked what date worked; she named June 19, and Trump confirmed that date on Truth Social along with Pulte's temporary status as acting director 1. Pulte, the FHFA director with no intelligence background or security clearance at the time of his appointment, had triggered a bipartisan revolt in Congress blocking FISA Section 702 reauthorization 1234. A Situation Room meeting convened Tuesday to find a resolution; a Trump congressional ally told Axios "We were so close to FISA passing, and then this Pulte thing blew it up" 14.

Analysis
The Pulte appointment has converted FISA Section 702 reauthorization from a near-closed legislative item into a bipartisan hostage scenario, with Congress conditioning surveillance authority renewal on his removal. Analytic confidence is high: Trump has publicly designated the appointment temporary, his own congressional allies have declared the standoff unworkable, and Tuesday's Situation Room convening signals that the administration is actively seeking an exit. Pulte is likely replaced as acting DNI before October 1, 2026. The decisive variable is whether Trump moves before Congress forces his hand on the FISA vote. The Pulte call may instead have been coordinated as a trial balloon to test congressional resolve, making the backlash a predictable signal rather than a miscalculation. If replacement arrives before October, it removes the Senate Intelligence Committee's rationale for holding reauthorization hostage.

4 sources

Scoop: Pulte sought Gabbards early removal as intel czar - Axios
Leaked Call Reveals Gabbard's Final Humiliation - The Daily Beast
Trump faces pressure to pull Bill Pulte appointment in FISA fight - The Hill
Congress Scrambles on FISA as Pulte Appointment Sparks Revolt - RealClearPolitics