President Donald Trump has named Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence, replacing Tulsi Gabbard, who recently announced plans to step down from the role at the end of June.
Announcing the move on Truth Social, Trump praised Pulte’s work as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), saying he 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.”
Pulte will continue serving as FHFA director and chairman of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac while taking on the acting intelligence role, according to Trump.
As attention turns to the businessman-turned-government official, here’s what is known about his family life.
Who is Bill Pulte?
Bill Pulte, 38, is the grandson of William J “Bill” Pulte Sr, the founder of PulteGroup, one of the largest homebuilding companies in American history. A family spokesperson said, “Bill Pulte constructed his first home at age 18 in 1950 and then founded, built and managed Pulte Homes to become the largest homebuilder in the United States, ultimately building over 600,000 homes.” The elder Pulte passed away in March 2018 at age 85, according to a PRNewswire.
The younger Pulte worked closely with his grandfather and was the only family member involved in the company. Before entering government, he founded Pulte Capital and built a large online following through what he called “Twitter philanthropy,” giving away money and amplifying fundraisers for people in need.
Since taking over as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency in 2025, Pulte has fired senior staff, pushed aggressive policy changes and used his authority to send criminal referrals against several of Trump’s political opponents. Those moves have triggered lawsuits and a federal watchdog investigation. He has since earned a reputation as one of Trump’s most loyal and combative allies, according to Newsweek.
What do we know about Bill Pulte’s wife and children?
Pulte keeps his personal life largely private, but in a rare interview with the Detroit Free Press in December 2021, he opened up slightly about his home life.
Pulte attended Northwestern University, where he met his wife, whom he described as a chemical engineer.
Referring to her during the interview, Pulte called her “the smart one” in the family.
The couple had two daughters who were ages 2 and 4 at the time.
The family lives in Florida, where Pulte was interviewed at his office in Boca Raton in late 2021.
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His family legacy
The Pulte family is a big one. When the elder William Pulte died in 2018, he was survived by his wife Karen, 13 of his 14 children, 27 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren, according to the PRNewswire.
Bill Pulte’s father, Mark Pulte, has six children including Bill. His siblings include a sister in high school in Metro Detroit, another sister who is a mother and stepsiblings working as a nurse, a medical device salesperson, and a financial analyst.
Mark Pulte builds custom luxury mansions in Florida, properties that sell for anywhere between $15 million and over $120 million though his work is unaffiliated with PulteGroup.
Of the entire extended Pulte family, Bill was the only grandchild to join the family company, working side by side with his grandfather. “None of his kids were involved in the business,” Bill Pulte told the Detroit Free Press. “Family members would give us a hard time because all we did was talk business.”
