President Trump tells acting DNI Bill Pulte he can “declassify almost everything” while in the role

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he told acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte that he could “declassify almost everything” while serving in the role, describing Pulte’s time in the position as limited and saying that the instruction reflected a short-term window to move classified information out of secrecy.

Trump made the remarks to reporters before heading to North Dakota, according to The Hill. Trump characterized his message to Pulte as allowing the acting DNI to pursue declassification “whatever you want,” while Pulte is in the job “for a fairly short period of time.”

Pulte, who is serving as acting DNI, is the senior official at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence responsible for coordinating intelligence community activities and, in that capacity, for the management of classification and intelligence information handling across agencies.

The White House and intelligence agencies operate within established classification and declassification frameworks that govern what information can be released, when it can be released, and what approvals or reviews are required. Declassification decisions are typically tied to safeguarding sources and methods and reducing risks to national security while balancing transparency and historical disclosure goals.

Trump’s comments, focused on the scope of declassification authority during a temporary leadership period, raise practical questions about how quickly the intelligence community can act on declassification requests, which records may be prioritized, and how agencies will reconcile competing constraints such as ongoing operations, sensitive collection, and the protection of intelligence capabilities.

Advocates of broader disclosure often argue that declassification can improve accountability and public understanding, while officials concerned with sensitive information say the process must remain disciplined and evidence-based to prevent inadvertent disclosure of methods, technical details, or vulnerabilities.

The Hill report did not specify which programs, documents, or time periods Trump had in mind, nor did it describe any immediate declassification actions that would follow from the remarks. The practical impact therefore depends on what internal review processes are initiated or accelerated within the intelligence community following the acting DNI’s assessment.

In the near term, the remarks place increased attention on the acting DNI role and the limits of leadership transitions at the intelligence-director level, particularly where declassification decisions require coordination across agencies and compliance with existing legal and policy requirements.