President Donald Trump stated on Wednesday that his acting director of national intelligence has broad authority to declassify documents during his brief tenure - including records that could relate to the 2020 election.
Trump said Bill Pulte, whom he installed as acting head of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) last month, has permission to release classified material while serving in the role. "Bill’s there, just, you know, for maybe a month or two months or something," the president told reporters as he departed Joint Base Andrews for an event in North Dakota. "But while he’s there, I said, 'You can declassify whatever you want'."
When asked whether that authority covered records connected to the 2020 election, Trump replied: "I told him you could do it, it’s fair. You got to ask him."
Pulte’s elevation to the intelligence post drew swift criticism because he is a political ally with no national security experience at a time the United States faces war and heightened global tensions, according to the administration’s own description of the environment. In the wake of that backlash, Trump nominated Jay Clayton - the U.S. attorney for Manhattan - to replace Pulte, but then abruptly postponed Clayton’s confirmation hearing as leverage in an effort to prompt Congress to approve a strict voter identification bill.
Trump told reporters there would be a hearing on Clayton’s nomination in two weeks, but it was not clear when lawmakers would take action. Congress is in recess for the July 4 holiday and the Senate Intelligence Committee’s website did not list any hearing dates.
The ODNI is the parent office for major intelligence agencies, overseeing the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency - the large agency that intercepts foreign communications and assists in defending the United States against cyberattacks.
Pulte currently leads the Federal Housing Finance Agency and will retain that position while serving at the ODNI until Clayton is confirmed by the Senate. Reports indicate Pulte has already initiated cuts that would eliminate hundreds of intelligence jobs.
Requests for comment were not immediately answered by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence or by the office of Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton.
The president, who won a second White House term in the 2024 election after losing in 2020, has long promoted claims of widespread fraud in U.S. elections - a claim that has been repeatedly described in public accounts as false.
The timeline for congressional action on the Clayton nomination remains uncertain, and Pulte will continue to serve in ODNI leadership until the Senate approves a successor.