During an oval office presser to highlight new clean coal initiatives, President Trump was asked about the interim appointment of Bill Pulte as Acting Director of National Intelligence.
The UniParty congress and DC stakeholder guardians in media have collectively been having fits about appointing Pulte as acting DNI. One of the main reasons for the apoplexy is a little understood aspect to DC that many people do not fully appreciate.
The Intelligence Community is upstream from most visible political events, and the IC control the Lawfare operations (investigations and prosecutions) as well as the behavior of congressional representatives in both the House and the Senate. The latter part of this reality was what Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer was referencing when he said, “the intelligence community has six ways from Sunday to get back at you,” should you question or challenge their power and control.
President Trump responded to the media question about the Pulte appointment by reminding everyone it is an interim appointment while ¹interviews for other candidates are taking place. WATCH:
¹Positioning for potential placement in this critical position has likely taken on new levels of interest as the intelligence system -thanks to Gabbard- now sees just how powerful an actively engaged DNI could be. There are multiple names likely in the mix, hopefully the white house advisors to President Trump remain disciplined, pragmatic and accept the value highlighted by the effectiveness of DNI Tulsi Gabbard’s approach.
[Unfortunately, history does not favor my optimism]
California State Assembly member James Gallagher (R) won a special election on Tuesday, adding one more Republican to the House. [Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R) died in January] This gives a slight boost to the Republican majority in the House and could provide a window for current HPSCI Chairman Rick Crawford to be considered.
IMHO with Aaron Lucas remaining as Deputy DNI, ideologically Crawford is probably the best replacement option. Former HPSCI Chairman Devin Nunes is also a possibility, but considerations there get a little more complicated.
