President 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.

His elevation on Tuesday of Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, to serve as America’s new acting top spymaster was therefore a classic political move.

On Tuesday, Donald Trump announced that he had tapped housing executive Bill Pulte to replace Tulsi Gabbard as his Director of National Intelligence, elevating a leading figure in his revenge campaign...