Valuetainment - June 05, 2026


“New Head of DNI” - Tulsi Gabbard’s Replacement Shocks The Market


Episode Stats


Length

15 minutes

Words per minute

172.98584

Word count

2,666

Sentence count

149


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
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00:00:27.820 Bill Paltty is announced as the DNI, replacing Tulsi Gabbard.
00:00:36.560 Rob, that's the story, right?
00:00:37.980 I mean, literally when you first saw this, I thought it was a, I thought the guys were joking around,
00:00:42.360 saying, hey, that's the announcement that was made, but let me read this to you.
00:00:45.960 Donald Trump has named housing official to serve as acting director of national intelligence,
00:00:51.160 DNI, the country's top spy chief, overseeing 18 government intelligence agencies.
00:00:57.360 Bill Pulte, part of a powerful home-building dynasty and a private equity financier, has no known background in intelligence and his selection to temporarily fill the position, is steering controversy amongst lawmakers and others.
00:01:11.340 Pulte has been accused of using his role as a director of federal housing finance agency to target Trump's perceived enemies by making criminal referrals over claims of mortgage fraud.
00:01:20.060 In an announcement on social media Tuesday, Trump praised Pulte for overseeing government-controlled mortgage company Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
00:01:26.640 William has deep experience managing the most sensitive matters in America,
00:01:30.120 the safety of soundness of the markets,
00:01:32.440 and over $10 trillion at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,
00:01:35.260 a substantial increase from where it was just 12 months ago.
00:01:37.900 During this period where it was just 12 months ago,
00:01:41.800 he will remain director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency
00:01:45.140 and chairman of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
00:01:46.660 Congratulations to Director Pulte.
00:01:49.900 Tom, thoughts on this?
00:01:50.860 So I noticed that he's staying at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,
00:01:54.760 Maybe CEO of the dual organization, the director.
00:02:00.020 And what's interesting is he's acting.
00:02:02.560 No one is in the chair.
00:02:04.020 Trump needs someone in the chair.
00:02:05.840 And there were a series of investigations that Tulsi had going on that can't just sit.
00:02:11.340 So I am wondering, and the White House has got to confirm it, this guy is a pit bull, and he's tough.
00:02:17.920 So I'm curious as they're saying, listen, Bill, I need you to step into the seat,
00:02:22.720 and I need you to pick up these investigations that Tulsi had going, go for it.
00:02:26.880 Push them, keep them going, but you're going to keep your job here,
00:02:30.560 and then we're going to name somebody to the post.
00:02:32.580 I'm wondering if that's it, because all of the announcements
00:02:35.880 and the press secretary reiterating it have said,
00:02:40.480 hey, he's going to stay as director of Federal Housing Finance Agency
00:02:45.560 and chairman of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac.
00:02:47.180 So if he's going to keep doing that, but he's acting over here,
00:02:51.200 It kind of is one of those things like where we've seen it in business, Pat.
00:02:54.480 The CFO will be the acting CEO, and he will make the announcement to the stock markets while we continue our search for a CEO.
00:03:02.420 The only thing the White House didn't say is the while we continue our search for a CEO.
00:03:07.360 So my curiosity, is this truly an acting role while they do a search so that he can continue those prosecutions and investigations that Tulsa had going?
00:03:16.860 Brian.
00:03:17.100 You know, Trump has this one characteristic.
00:03:21.680 I think he looks at Washington, previous to him, as being a joke in many respects.
00:03:28.680 Fifty-one former intelligence officers came out and said the Hunter Biden laptop was Russian disinformation.
00:03:37.220 I mean, that's a joke.
00:03:39.720 It wasn't ever true.
00:03:41.520 They knew it when they did it.
00:03:43.200 And Trump has disdain for them.
00:03:45.460 And so by appointing Pulte, I think he gets to do two things.
00:03:50.100 He gets his own pit bull in place, and he kind of gets to show that, hey, maybe all these people in Washington, D.C.,
00:03:57.100 when they tell you we need an intelligence expert to do this job, maybe they're just joking around
00:04:04.080 because all they're really doing is putting politicians in the places.
00:04:07.800 They just call them intelligence officials.
00:04:10.540 Humberto.
00:04:11.640 I mean, the main thing that intelligence agencies in general need,
00:04:18.140 they need to be audited.
00:04:19.420 So having a business guy there that can do hiring and firing,
00:04:23.360 if he's an actual pit bull, as you say, I think that's the guy we need.
00:04:27.100 You know what I mean?
00:04:28.840 This is not the first time in history that we have people
00:04:31.800 without any intelligence or military experience.
00:04:34.400 You have Mike McConnell.
00:04:36.260 He took the position, well, you know, like,
00:04:41.800 so I think if he's going to have a business approach
00:04:44.260 to how to run the agencies, like, it might be a positive.
00:04:47.760 I don't know.
00:04:48.320 I'm just giving the president, you know, like, some leeway
00:04:50.920 and see how it goes.
00:04:52.300 Chuck Schumer's.
00:04:52.860 But look, the true criticism that people are going to give is
00:04:56.720 where is the qualification for someone like him to run this?
00:05:01.940 Intelligence is different than mortgage and real estate,
00:05:04.660 and Bill Paltty is a friend.
00:05:05.960 It's not like I'm calling the guy out.
00:05:08.720 Where is the, where is the, so here's what Chuck Schumer is saying about it.
00:05:12.180 Let me just play this clip for a couple of seconds and then we'll come back to it.
00:05:14.740 Go ahead, Rob.
00:05:15.580 Now on the Pulte appointment.
00:05:17.680 This morning, Trump appointed Bill Pulte to serve as acting director of national intelligence.
00:05:23.480 Something that should send a shiver down the spine of everyone.
00:05:27.420 Bill Pulte has proven himself willing to act as a Trump political puppet.
00:05:33.340 filing baseless, outrageous, politically motivated charges on Trump's behalf.
00:05:39.820 And now Trump wants to put him in charge of intelligence?
00:05:45.020 Americans need an intelligence chief to be loyal to the facts.
00:05:51.280 If you're not loyal to the facts and intelligence, you're not protecting our security.
00:05:57.020 He needs the intelligence and security teams.
00:06:00.660 This guy speaks as a cure for insomnia.
00:06:02.640 But I think a part of it where, you know, a part of it where you're thinking, why would he get the job?
00:06:08.900 Brandon, where are you at with this?
00:06:11.160 Yeah, if I wanted to try as hard as I possibly can to make a positive spin on this, I don't think that I could.
00:06:17.340 Because, one, Pulte, I think Pulte should be focused 100% on fixing the housing market and making sure that we're building as much as possible.
00:06:23.920 Because that's the biggest crisis in America.
00:06:26.220 There's a lack of homes for the amount of people that need homes.
00:06:28.660 so I didn't see him making a ton of progress on that
00:06:30.940 so I don't think we should put him
00:06:32.420 in charge of the entire intelligence agency
00:06:35.180 plus it's not
00:06:36.700 a job where you're a brief
00:06:38.580 intern in it and you can turn it over to somebody else
00:06:40.540 you have to be sworn in and briefed on all the
00:06:42.980 confidential things that are going on
00:06:44.960 and what does he know about what's going on in the Middle East
00:06:47.080 or what's going on in Russia
00:06:48.180 and with terrorism and this and that
00:06:50.120 not that a lot of people who have had that before
00:06:52.620 are super impressive either
00:06:53.900 but he hasn't done anything remarkable
00:06:56.620 with the job he already has
00:06:58.000 So why are you going to double him up with this now?
00:06:59.940 Like, is it going to be a Rubio thing where he's holding both these jobs at once?
00:07:02.580 Like, it does create the question of, like, oh, does Trump just want somebody there who's a yes man?
00:07:07.320 So, no, I don't like it.
00:07:08.960 Tom, what do you say to that?
00:07:11.000 You know, there's validity to the angle that Brandon is taking.
00:07:15.080 And I think that there's an obvious opening here because of the lack of direct experience.
00:07:22.320 And that's why my speculation is, is it just an acting role the same way CFOs are acting while they find a new CEO?
00:07:32.280 Clearly, Pulte's background is not national intelligence.
00:07:35.540 However, he was brought as an outsider to carve through crap, and he has done some of that.
00:07:42.900 And the fact that the interest rates and other things are frustrating the progress of the housing market doesn't mean he's not pushing things.
00:07:51.680 And I know you're going to push on housing that if it's not cured tomorrow, somehow something's, you know, bad.
00:07:58.440 So, you know, I see the criticism and I think it's valid.
00:08:02.440 This is how I see it.
00:08:03.740 The only way I see this is the following.
00:08:06.740 I see it as sometimes you have a leader that's running a department and you're not that connected to the people that report to him or her.
00:08:15.660 So, for instance, you've got a guy that's got 100 people that are working with him and he's running it.
00:08:20.080 He's a C-suite executive.
00:08:21.680 And then all of a sudden you fire him or he quits.
00:08:24.460 You don't know to bring somebody up.
00:08:27.460 So if he's a C-suite, you bring the VP and say,
00:08:30.760 you're the interim guy to run this department, whatever, the finance, whatever.
00:08:34.140 Okay, you run it now.
00:08:35.260 Or you bring the director up.
00:08:36.700 You bring somebody up.
00:08:37.880 If you didn't believe in the guy that was running the entire department
00:08:42.360 and you think that entire department is infested with people that are now against you,
00:08:49.620 That's when you bring somebody in that you trust.
00:08:51.760 That is the only reason where I see him putting something like this,
00:08:54.180 to say, look, give me 90 days.
00:08:56.840 I'm going to go and see who's who, who's on whose side,
00:08:59.520 and I'll study them very closely, and I'll come back to you,
00:09:02.060 give you a report.
00:09:03.040 Perfect.
00:09:03.800 I trust you to go find who is on our side, who's not on our side.
00:09:08.040 If it's a job to go clean up, well, then maybe that makes sense.
00:09:12.220 But if it's a long-term job,
00:09:13.840 it doesn't make sense to have Bill Pulte at that position long-term.
00:09:16.480 maybe bill is going to be somebody that's going to go out there and do some due diligence and
00:09:20.960 take a bunch of guys to lunch and have meetings and have different kind of things and they say
00:09:24.380 you know we can trust this guy that's part of tulsi's team that's part of talk this is part
00:09:28.520 of joe kent this guy's part of this this guy's part of you this guy's neutral that guy's the
00:09:33.120 old timer that came from uh you know george bush that guy's with biden that guy was with obama and
00:09:39.100 so you're kind of going to get where they're at that is the only way i see something like this
00:09:42.380 right now can I make another counterpoint yeah like the most qualified by you know like experience
00:09:47.820 of all time is James Clapper where did that take us you know what I mean he had 40 years of military
00:09:53.880 intelligence experience like where did did he do any better than any other DNI like I don't know
00:09:59.120 like someone tell me well it's the same thing as as George H.W. Bush he was supposedly the most
00:10:05.140 qualified president we've had in you know 100 years I compare him to Ronald Reagan an actor
00:10:11.760 or Donald Trump, and yet he was a one-term president,
00:10:15.680 and most people didn't vote for him because he failed.
00:10:19.740 And then I would say one overarching thing.
00:10:23.460 One of the things that has always bothered me about government,
00:10:26.360 and I was the chief economist of the Joint Economic Committee of Congress back in the 90s,
00:10:32.560 and they keep telling us we need experts.
00:10:36.560 We need experts.
00:10:37.420 We need an expert here, an expert there, and you've got to know what you're doing,
00:10:40.200 and you have to have experience in government, and look where we are.
00:10:44.040 Everything just keeps getting worse, not better, and we just keep hiring experts.
00:10:49.880 And I'm like, it's time to not.
00:10:52.580 It's time to reshuffle the whole board and bring in people that actually can run a business
00:10:59.300 or manage people, and maybe it'll make a big difference.
00:11:03.620 I'm not saying he's an intelligence expert, and I think intelligence is important.
00:11:07.700 What is an intelligence expert, though, really?
00:11:09.580 Right.
00:11:09.880 I mean, but the thing is, that job's a labyrinth.
00:11:12.680 Like, think about all, like, there's not a single person in the world who knows every single thing that's going on in the intelligence agencies, right?
00:11:18.080 Like, even if it's the director of the CIA, he doesn't know everything that's going on in the CIA.
00:11:21.280 So how would he even go about, like, learning everything that's going on and what each person's about?
00:11:25.640 I mean, I think that's an, you know, unrealistic task for him to do if that is the initiative.
00:11:30.940 A good manager will know.
00:11:32.620 What do you mean?
00:11:33.020 It's classified.
00:11:34.180 No, no, no, no.
00:11:34.760 But you just walk around, see what this guy's about, who he's having lunch with, what meetings is he taking.
00:11:39.880 I don't know.
00:11:40.240 And that's giving him a lot of credit.
00:11:41.300 If, like, directors of the CIA can't know who they could trust.
00:11:43.780 Like, was it John Rackliff, the director of the CIA,
00:11:45.880 said they just came in and installed, like, things on his computer
00:11:48.500 that he didn't even want them to install day one, right?
00:11:50.740 So it's a crazy position to be in, and everybody's trying to stab you in the back.
00:11:54.500 It is a crazy position.
00:11:55.600 And by the way, remember, the CIA's been around for a minute, but DNI hasn't.
00:11:59.280 I think DNI's only been around for 19 years, 17 years, 20 years.
00:12:02.220 I don't know what the number is.
00:12:03.060 It's not been around for that long of a time.
00:12:05.720 Can you see when it got started, DNI?
00:12:07.400 And CIA reports to them.
00:12:08.660 Yeah, 21 years I got started.
00:12:10.140 So it's a recent thing that they got started.
00:12:11.880 So NCI reports to DNI.
00:12:13.320 So we'll see.
00:12:14.460 A little bit slip or slope.
00:12:15.660 The only thing for me is it is a reflection of whether he trusts Tulsi or not
00:12:21.880 and what happened to that team, how deep it's been infiltrated.
00:12:25.400 That would be the only reason for me that he assigns a position like this
00:12:28.400 because, you know, he trusts Pulte immensely with the way their relationship is.
00:12:32.480 The big game is around the corner.
00:12:34.040 They're already talking about the matchups, who's playing against who.
00:12:36.760 different people are representing different countries obviously i live in an interesting
00:12:42.080 community where a lot of uh soccer players uh live we knew when they left to go off to kansas city
00:12:47.940 uh messes in kansas city this is gonna be the most amazing thing everyone's look there was so
00:12:53.500 many interesting stats the most ever players above 40 years old playing in the world cup
00:12:58.120 the youngest player is a 17 year old kid from uh uh i think from mexico if i'm not mistaken
00:13:04.240 and there's going to be some interesting stories.
00:13:06.100 But we had these hats that we made
00:13:08.500 representing different countries, okay?
00:13:11.300 And believe it or not, for Iran,
00:13:13.360 we had the old Shahan Shahi,
00:13:15.340 Mohammed Reza Shah Palavi's flag
00:13:17.640 right here, which is sick.
00:13:19.260 And I think there's a couple of those hats left.
00:13:21.300 Rob, if you want to play this clip, go for it.
00:13:34.240 Down, Down, Down Down
00:13:53.620 Down
00:13:55.320 All right.
00:14:24.720 You can pause it right there, Rob.
00:14:26.040 Whether it's Argentina, whether it's Brazil, whether it's U.S.,
00:14:29.320 which the U.S. hats look ridiculous, or whether it's Iran, any of them,
00:14:33.100 go to vtmerch.com, place your order, get the hat, get it for yourself,
00:14:36.760 get it for your friends, but go to vtmerch.com to place your order
00:14:40.840 and represent your country for this summer.
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00:14:54.720 Thank you.