Pulte Installs RNC Election Official as ODNI Chief of Staff, Drawing Bipartisan Scrutiny

Acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte has appointed Christina Norton, a former Republican National Committee election official, as chief of staff of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the New York Times first reported June 26. ^[1][2] The appointment consolidates in ODNI's top administrative post a political aide whose prior government work centered entirely on housing finance and whose party work focused exclusively on election monitoring, rather than intelligence or national security.

Norton previously served as Pulte's chief of staff at the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the regulatory body overseeing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which Pulte continues to lead concurrently with his ODNI role. ^[3][4] At the RNC during the 2024 presidential election cycle, Norton served as election integrity director and oversaw the party's poll watcher program. ^[5] That program, according to published accounts, enlisted more than 100,000 volunteers and drew on figures who had publicly disputed the results of the 2020 election. ^[6] Neither Norton nor Pulte has a background in intelligence, counterterrorism, or national security policy. ^[7][8]

Pulte's appointment as acting DNI took effect June 30, when his predecessor, Tulsi Gabbard, formally resigned. ^[9][10] Trump announced Pulte for the acting role while simultaneously allowing him to retain his positions as FHFA director and chairman of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. ^[11] Federal law provides that the DNI "should have extensive national security expertise," but allows the president to install an acting official for up to 210 days without Senate confirmation, bypassing that statutory standard. ^[12][13] A separate legal question has surfaced regarding whether Pulte is even the proper acting official: the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, the statute that created ODNI, designates the Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence, not an outside appointee, to exercise the DNI's powers when the position is vacant. ^[14] Trump had initially indicated that Principal Deputy Director Aaron Lukas would serve in the acting capacity before pivoting to Pulte. ^[15]

The Norton appointment compounds existing concerns on Capitol Hill about the intersection of ODNI's statutory mission and the administration's domestic election agenda. Sen. Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia and ranking member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said in a statement that the choice erodes "the wall between our intelligence agencies and domestic elections." ^[16] Rep. Jim Himes, Democrat of Connecticut and ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, said Trump was "explicit" that he had elections in mind when he tapped Pulte. ^[17] On the Republican side, Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, appearing on CNN's "State of the Union" June 28, said he is "concerned that we're going to continue to cast doubt on elections in November," and called for Pulte's removal from the post. ^[18][19] Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, appearing separately on CBS News' "Face the Nation," called Pulte's use of the FHFA against political opponents "disqualifying." ^[20]

The appointment also carries implications for Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the legal authority under which the intelligence community collects electronic communications of non-U.S. persons abroad. Tillis warned that Pulte's tenure has caused Section 702 intelligence sharing to begin "going dark" because of diminished trust in his leadership. ^[21] Democrats have threatened to withhold support for reauthorization of Section 702 unless Trump withdraws Pulte's appointment, adding a legislative dimension to what has primarily been an executive-branch dispute. ^[22] ODNI declined to address Norton's qualifications and said in a statement that Pulte is "focused on carrying out President Trump's national security priorities while faithfully executing ODNI's statutory mission." ^[23]

The broader context includes a stalled permanent nomination. Trump had nominated Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, to serve as permanent DNI, and Senate leaders of both parties anticipated a relatively uncontested confirmation. Trump then withdrew support for moving the nomination forward, conditioning it on passage of the SAVE America Act, a voter identification bill that Senate Democrats have pledged to filibuster. ^[24][25] With the Clayton nomination on hold and the Senate in recess for the Independence Day holiday, Pulte retains full acting-DNI authorities and the Norton hire stands without any imminent congressional check on either appointment.