Key Trump administration Cabinet members face hearings on Capitol Hill

Donald Trump’s pick of Bill Pulte, who has played a leading role in stoking the president’s retribution campaign, as acting director of national intelligence is being met with deep skepticism from a number of Republican senators who are raising questions over his qualifications.

The skepticism signals that if Pulte, a housing agency official, were chosen as a permanent pick and had to go through a confirmation process on Capitol Hill, it would likely be challenging.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune told CNN that “we don’t need a weaponized DNI, we need professionals here” when asked whether he is worried that Pulte might weaponize the intelligence community.

Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, who recently lost his reelection primary to a Trump-backed challenger, said he sees “no evidence” Pulte is qualified for the position, but noted “the Senate doesn’t have a role in the confirmation of an acting director.”

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, sounding skeptical, described the pick as “interesting” and questioned whether Pulte has the proper national security background.

She said outgoing Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who faced controversy, had some experience for the position.

“She had with her position previously in the Congress, and also with the military, she had a level of background. … I’m not so sure that he does,” the Alaska lawmaker said.

Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who recently lost his reelection bid, said Pulte “doesn’t seem qualified … but maybe there’s something I don’t know about.”

Retiring Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina said of Pulte, “I don’t know of any national security experience he has. So, I’ll be looking at that first and foremost.”

Sen. John Hoeven said he thinks Trump picked Pulte because he is “comfortable” with him. But Hoeven said he needs to learn about his national security credentials.

“He’s appointed him before, but I really need to get more information on him in terms of understanding his knowledge of security issues and that kind of thing,” the North Dakota lawmaker said.

Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, warned of the implications of President Donald Trump appointing controversial housing official Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence.

“Who knows what he could use, manufacture, create,” the senator said of Pulte, who has played a leading role in stoking the president’s retribution campaign.

Warner told CNN’s Manu Raju that appointing Pulte to oversee the intelligence community is “such an insult to all of the men and women who work there. If they can’t speak truth to power, then the value of that whole community and the billions and billions we spend is going to be completely undermined.”

Warner said he’s especially worried about Pulte engaging in “election interference,” referring to outgoing Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s hunt for elusive evidence of voter fraud.

The Virginia Democrat said while he had “challenges” with Gabbard’s tenure, he predicted “they will look small compared to what the potential for abuse that will come out of Bill Pulte” and noted that the former Hawaii congresswoman had experience with oversight on Capitol Hill and served in the military.

“There is nothing in this guy’s background that gives any indication of any intelligence background,” he said of Pulte.

Warner said he expects a “vigorous” bipartisan conversation about the appointment when the Senate Intelligence Committee meets behind closed doors later this afternoon.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio testifies during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing concerning the fiscal year 2027 budget for the State Department, on Capitol Hill, on June 2.

The US military has rejected proposals for strikes against alleged drug boats because they didn’t meet the targeting criteria or officials had “doubts” about the targets, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday.

“I can tell you, they do walk away from strikes,” Rubio, who also serves as the national security adviser, said in response to a question from Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia.

The exchange was a reminder that the Trump administration’s military actions against alleged drug boats, as well as in Venezuela and Iran, are grounded in classified legal opinions that the public may never see.

The US military has killed at least 201 people in strikes that have destroyed 63 vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific, according to a recent CNN tally. The Justice Department’s classified opinion underpinning the boat strikes equates drug cartels with terrorists and focuses on the death caused by the drugs brought to American shores, CNN previously reported.

Kaine and Rubio couldn’t discuss the details of that memo in an unclassified setting, but Kaine said it had three criteria. The criteria do not include a stipulation that narcotics be on the boat, Kaine said, while calling that “odd.”

Kaine complained that lawmakers still don’t have access to the legal opinion underpinning the Iran war, though they had access to the opinions supporting operations against the alleged drug boats and the US’ January raid in Venezuela. The State Department released its own legal assessment of the Iran war in April.

“If you’ve showed us the legal rationale for two wars and you won’t show us the legal rationale for the third … is there something in the rationale they don’t want us to see?” Kaine said.

A person is arrested by federal law enforcement agents led by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Rex, south of Atlanta, in February 2025.

Talks are expected to continue today on Capitol Hill as Senate leaders are attempting to pass $70 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol through a budget process called reconciliation that allows them to adopt it on a party-line vote.

President Donald Trump had pressed for a June 1 deadline to pass the money that will fund those agencies through the end of his term. But the deadline was missed after GOP senators were enraged by the Department of Justice’s announcement to create a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund, which the agency said was aimed at paying restitution to people targeted by the Biden administration.

The Trump administration signaled to Republican congressional leaders yesterday that it plans to drop the fund, though it was unclear how firm or permanent that plan is, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

Trump has not committed publicly to terminating the controversial pot of money, and a third source familiar with the discussions indicated the administration was merely pausing efforts to pursue the fund — not dropping those plans altogether.

Senate Republicans said they need more assurances that the Trump administration will completely drop the initiative after the Justice Department said it would abide by a court order temporarily blocking the effort.

Many senators told CNN they cannot move ahead with funding immigrantion enforcement until they know that it is dead, rather than simply kicked down the road.

Many also want to kill money Trump has demanded for security of his desired White House ballroom as they believe it is out of touch with the economic trials of their voters.

Bill Pulte speaks at the White House in Washington, DC, on January 9.

Donald Trump on Tuesday named housing official Bill Pulte, who has played a leading role in stoking the president’s retribution campaign, as acting director of national intelligence.

Pulte — a wealthy businessman turned Federal Housing Finance Agency director — appears to be an unusual choice given his lack of demonstrated experience in national intelligence. But he has served as an unlikely political attack dog against the Federal Reserve and many of Trump’s perceived political enemies.

Still, the president’s decision to move Pulte into the role already has some Trump allies scratching their heads.

“Building homes is very similar to managing a 17-agency US intelligence community,” one former Trump official sarcastically said when asked about Pulte’s qualifications for the role.

In a Truth Social post announcing the appointment, Trump cited Pulte’s “deep experience managing the most sensitive matters in America, the safety and soundness of the Markets, and over 10 Trillion Dollars at Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, a substantial increase from where it was just 12 months ago.”

Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, immediately Trump’s decision to tap Pulte for the role.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks with reporters during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg on May 22.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is testifying in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee this morning and a House appropriations panel later this afternoon.

He is there to talk about his department’s budget request, but the hearings come during a tense moment in the United States’ war with Iran.

It also comes as Rubio has recently expressed pessimism that a diplomatic solution could be reached with Cuba. The Trump administration secured criminal charges against former Cuban President Raúl Castro, mounting pressure on an already tense relationship between the two Cold War foes. The administration also imposed new sanctions on the Cuban government.

Also in the last few weeks, Rubio outlined the Trump administration’s response to Ebola. “We cannot and will not allow any cases of Ebola to enter the United States,” he said at a recent Cabinet meeting.

Rubio also serves simultaneously as President Donald Trump’s national security adviser.

While all events on President Donald Trump’s schedule are closed to press today, there’s a flurry of action on Capitol Hill, plus a White House press briefing.

Here’s what we’re tracking:

Stick with us for the latest developments.