Trump Wants New Intelligence Chief to Conduct Mass Layoffs, Plans to Overhaul Intelligence Community with Loyalist

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he wants the incoming acting intelligence chief to start firing employees, deepening controversy over appointing someone with no intelligence experience to the post. Trump, speaking to reporters on Air Force One, said he would not mind if Bill Pulte, the newly appointed acting Director of National Intelligence (DNI), fires people, adding that the office has had too many employees for a long time. Pulte, a loyal Trump supporter and head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), was appointed to the post on February 2. In an earlier interview with the Wall Street Journal, Trump said he hoped Pulte, who will oversee 18 U.S. intelligence agencies, would significantly cut staff numbers. "I'd like to see a reduction in size. I think there are a lot of people in there that shouldn't be there," Trump told the Journal, citing personnel left over from the administrations of former Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama. Democrats condemned the appointment of Pulte to replace Tulsi Gabbard as intelligence chief, saying the Trump loyalist had previously weaponized government files against Trump's political opponents. Trump sought to quell the controversy, insisting Pulte was only a transitional placeholder, and said he had recently interviewed five people for the position. Trump said on Tuesday that Pulte would also investigate "rigged elections," reiterating his baseless claims of voter fraud in his 2020 election loss. Trump had previously tasked Gabbard with investigating alleged election fraud, even though the DNI's authority does not include this task. Gabbard recently announced her resignation, citing the need to care for her sick husband. Pulte, a real estate heir, has previously demonstrated his loyalty to Trump by targeting his political opponents. Pulte used mortgage records to support investigations into Trump's adversaries, including Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and Democratic Senator Adam Schiff. Trump's appointment of Pulte has also widened the growing rift between him and Republican lawmakers, who are nervously watching poll numbers ahead of the November midterm elections.