“Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good,” goes the old saying. In the case of the Trump administration, the standard is not so much “good” as “barely competent.”
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump appointed Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence. Two days later he told reporters that Pulte’s appointment is “not going to be permanent” and he will “just take it over a little while.” That is cold comfort, given the position’s responsibilities.
The provision creating “a Director of National Intelligence” included the legal requirement that he or she “have extensive national security expertise.”
Pulte was – and remains – the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, hardly the background one would expect for the leader of America’s 18 intelligence agencies. That’s particularly true during a time when America is at war with Iran, a hostile foreign adversary whom the US government considers a state sponsor of terrorism.
I was serving as a federal national security prosecutor when Congress created the position of director of national intelligence following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The goal was to help members of the intelligence community “connect the dots.” Congress passed the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act in 2004 to break down intelligence community silos and more effectively facilitate information sharing. The provision creating “a Director of National Intelligence” included the legal requirement that he or she “have extensive national security expertise.”
Pulte replaces Tulsi Gabbard, who resigned from the post last month amid disagreements over the threat posed by Iran. Gabbard’s resume was thin, but at least she had experience in the military and in Congress. Pulte appears to lack any national security expertise at all. In fact, his only apparent qualification is unflinching loyalty to the president and an eagerness to weaponize the government against Trump’s perceived foes. After all, it was Pulte who has made accusations of mortgage fraud against some of Trump’s perceived enemies, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook and Senator Adam Schiff. Pulte also called for the removal of Jerome Powell as chair of the Federal Reserve, supporting Trump’s efforts to pressure Powell to lower interest rates.
There’s a reason Congress required the DNI to have national security experience. The director of national intelligence oversees the nation’s collection, analysis, and dissemination of information relating to terrorist plots, cyber attacks, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and malign foreign influence, an incredibly sensitive portfolio. The job’s responsibilities including conducting the president’s daily brief, the meeting at which a president is advised each morning of overnight developments and the most urgent threats to American interests.
Why would a president want to fill such a sensitive and important position with someone who lacks any bona fide credentials? Perhaps the appointment reflects what historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat calls “engineered incompetence.” When a leader appoints an individual to an office that is above their station, the official becomes beholden to the leader, who, in turn, gains absolute control. Knowing they are in over their head, the official is less likely to assert independent judgment or to object when the leader acts in his self-interest instead of the public good.
Effective leaders value candid advice, even when it means hearing things that conflict with their policy preferences.
Engineered incompetence explains how a Fox News host gets appointed Secretary of Defense and promptly shares sensitive attack plans over a Signal chat. When subservience is favored over expertise, the leader gains power, but institutions become less effective, to the detriment of the people. Russian President Vladimir Putin is believed to have miscalculated a quick victory in his war with Ukraine because of the overly optimistic assessments of his advisers, who tell Putin only what he wants to hear. Four years later, the war rages on. After the way Gabbard was isolated, don’t expect Pulte to disagree with Trump over the threat posed by Iran, no matter the stakes.
Under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, Pulte can serve in an acting capacity for up to 210 days without Senate confirmation. Democrats in Congress warn they will block the extension of the government’s warrantless surveillance authority under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act unless Pulte’s appointment is reversed. Even some Republicans have denounced the appointment. “We don’t need a weaponized DNI.,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune. “We need professionals there.”
Effective leaders value candid advice, even when it means hearing things that conflict with their policy preferences. A leader who ignores unpleasant news is one who is unprepared to make clear-eyed choices on behalf of the people he was elected to serve. With a loyalist like Pulte leading the president’s daily intelligence brief, the engineered incompetence itself poses a grave risk to our national security.
Barbara McQuade is a former Michigan U.S. attorney and legal analyst.