"Given your lack of experience within the Intelligence Community, it is difficult to imagine that in such a short amount of time you have already developed fully-informed views as to how to shrink ODNI without incurring risks to national security," Rep. Jim Himes and Sen. Mark Warner wrote in a June 22 letter to acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte.
Himes and Warner's June 22 letter to Acting DNI Bill Pulte
Top Democrats on the House and Senate intelligence committees—Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, and Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee—sent a joint letter on June 22 warning Bill Pulte against using his temporary role to make major changes at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). The lawmakers said Pulte should avoid actions "more appropriately left to a Senate-confirmed Director" and reminded him of a legal obligation to preserve records related to any actions taken while serving in the acting role.
Concerns about declassification and safeguarding sources and methods
Himes and Warner sharpened earlier Democratic concerns that Pulte's prior role in mortgage-fraud reviews could foreshadow misuse of intelligence tools to pursue political opponents. The letter said Pulte's record as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency showed "a willingness to misuse your position, including your access to sensitive information," language the lawmakers used to warn against politically motivated declassification.
The pair told Pulte they expect him not to declassify information in a way that would compromise intelligence sources and methods or "weaponize the declassification process for partisan political purposes." They said any declassification effort should follow established policies and include input from career intelligence officials assessing the national security risks of releasing classified material.
Reports of large-scale personnel actions at ODNI
The letter directly addressed multiple reports that Pulte could soon fire or place on leave hundreds of ODNI employees. Himes and Warner noted those reports with alarm, pointing out that the office already "shrank this year," and they urged Pulte to refrain from making significant structural changes—including any reduction in force—while serving in an acting capacity and without consulting Congress.
Those concerns were underscored by the lawmakers' demand that Pulte and ODNI employees preserve records related not only to declassification and publication but also to personnel actions. The preservation obligation, they wrote, extends to electronic messages sent through official or personal accounts, text messages, phone-based messaging apps and encrypted software.
Pulte's appointment, the canceled Clayton hearing, and Section 702
The letter came days after Pulte, described in the letter as lacking intelligence experience, began serving as acting DNI following the cancellation of a Senate hearing for Jay Clayton, President Trump's nominee to permanently lead the intelligence community. That delay ensured Pulte would assume the acting role, a development the lawmakers said has prolonged a fight already complicating bipartisan efforts to renew Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a powerful foreign spying authority that lapsed earlier this month.
The New York Times, cited by an administration official, reported on June 22 that Pulte could serve in the acting role through August. An ODNI spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment.
What this means for ODNI staff, Congress, and the public
- ODNI staff: Career employees face uncertainty about potential personnel actions and are the subjects of an explicit congressional demand to preserve records of personnel decisions, communications and classified-material actions across official and personal channels.
- Congress and oversight: Himes and Warner have signaled they will press for consultation before structural changes and expect a Senate-confirmed director to make major organizational decisions; they also demanded acknowledgement of the letter and confirmation of "full and immediate compliance" with records-preservation requirements.
- The public and national security community: Lawmakers framed their warnings around risks to national security and to intelligence sources and methods, urging that any declassification follow established policies and include career-official input to assess national-security consequences.
The letter also noted broader political context: the office was created after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to improve coordination across the intelligence community, and President Trump has said he wants Pulte to further downsize ODNI and continue election-related investigations launched under former DNI Tulsi Gabbard. Himes and Warner closed their letter by requesting that Pulte soon acknowledge the letter and confirm his "full and immediate compliance" with legal records-preservation requirements—leaving a clear, immediate test of whether the acting director will heed lawmakers' demands or move ahead with reported personnel and structural changes.
