The United States of America President Donald Trump has named the current director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, William Pulte, as acting Director of National Intelligence, succeeding Tulsi Gabbard on a temporary basis.

The announcement came just over a week after Ms Gabbard stated in a letter that she would step down from her position at the end of June to be with her husband Abraham Will who had been diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer. 

“I am appointing the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and Chairman of Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, William J. Pulte, to serve as Acting Director of National Intelligence,” Mr Trump said in a Truth Social post on Tuesday. 

Despite never serving in the military or being part of the U.S. intelligence community as Ms Gabbard, the president claimed that Mr Pulte has wealth of knowledge in handling sensitive matters. 

“William has 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,” Mr Trump wrote. 

The American leader also stated that Mr Pulte will remain as the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and chairman of Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac while he serves as the acting director of national intelligence. 

Meanwhile, Mr Pulte has also faced controversy, with critics accusing him of using his role as head of the federal housing agency to take action against individuals whom Mr Trump views as political opponents.

In March this year, he made two criminal referrals to the Department of Justice against New York Attorney General Letitia James, alleging insurance fraud. 

However, the Trump administration has failed to prosecute her after three attempts. 

Additionally, he made similar referral against Democratic Senator Adam Schiff as well as Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook over accusations of mortgage fraud which she denied.