Bessent backs Pulte for intelligence post after past dinner clash

Scott Bessent told senators he had clashed with Bill Pulte at a summer 2025 dinner, but said the fight did not change his view of Pulte as Trump elevated him to acting director of national intelligence. Speaking at a 10 a.m. Senate Finance Committee hearing in 215 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Bessent told Sen. Thom Tillis that the dispute was overblown and added, “No sir, I actually said I was going to kick his a ,” before comparing it to the way “many teams squabble in the locker room and then go out and win for the team on the field.”

The remark turned a private feud into a public test of governing style. Trump announced on Tuesday that Pulte would replace Tulsi Gabbard as acting director of national intelligence after her departure at the end of the month, while Pulte would keep his current jobs as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and chair of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. That arrangement put a housing-finance chief with no intelligence or security-clearance background into one of the government’s most sensitive roles, deepening concern on Capitol Hill about how far loyalty now outweighs qualifications.

The dinner itself has become part of the political baggage. Politico reported that the clash took place at the Executive Branch club in Washington, D.C., during a birthday party for podcaster Chamath Palihapitiya, and that multiple administration officials witnessed the confrontation. The report said Bessent accused Pulte of badmouthing him to Trump and that Omeed Malik stepped in to break it up. The episode, first described as a threat to punch Pulte in the face, was later framed by Bessent as a much rougher exchange, but one he still appeared willing to move past.

That willingness is central to why Pulte’s ascent has drawn so much scrutiny. He has already faced bipartisan criticism for using his housing post to push mortgage-fraud allegations against several Trump critics, including Letitia James, Adam Schiff, Eric Swalwell, Lisa Cook and Fani Willis. A congressional watchdog has opened or accepted a probe into his handling of those referrals, adding another layer of controversy to a nominee who would be asked to oversee intelligence while remaining in charge of the nation’s housing finance agencies.

Sen. Tillis said Pulte “has no path” to confirmation and said he “lost me when he went after Powell,” a reference to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Sen. Mark Warner also criticized Trump’s choice. The broader message from the hearing was hard to miss: in this White House, a senior official can publicly recast a serious personal clash as locker-room roughhousing and still be expected to line up behind the same ally for a top national security job.