Just before leaving office amid a contentious battle over who will succeed her, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard used one of her final acts atop the U.S. intelligence community to spotlight Dr. Anthony Fauci’s role in discussions surrounding the government’s COVID-19 origins review. 

While much of the material is familiar, Gabbard’s release underscores her effort to make questions surrounding Fauci, COVID origins and federal support for virus research part of her closing legacy atop the intelligence community.

As Gabbard fired her final broadside, Bill Pulte, who has received bipartisan criticism over his lack of intelligence experience, is set to take the reins at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence while Trump’s permanent nominee remains stalled.

Jay Clayton, an attorney and former SEC chairman whom Trump nominated to permanently lead ODNI, has seen his confirmation process delayed after the president said he was holding up the nomination to pressure Congress to pass a voter identification measure.

WHY TRUMP PICKED BILL PULTE TO LEAD US INTELLIGENCE AS CRITICS QUESTION HIS QUALIFICATIONS

Pulte is a construction businessman and housing official who served as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. His tenure at the housing agency has drawn controversy over allegations that he used FHFA authority to target Trump’s political opponents, an allegation amplifying concerns among key senators that he may attempt to weaponize the intelligence community at the behest of the president during his interim tenure.

«We don’t need a weaponized DNI, we need professionals there,» Senate Majority Leader Sen. John Thune said of Pulte. Other powerful congressional Republicans, such as Sens. Cornyn, Cassidy, Murkowski, Collins and Tillis, have also voiced opposition to or concern over Pulte taking over ODNI.

Senate Democrats share many of the same concerns as their GOP colleagues.

Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Dick Durbin, Sheldon Whitehouse, Richard Blumenthal, Gary Peters, Adam Schiff, Mark Warner and Ron Wyden have all expressed concerns that Pulte would weaponize America’s intelligence apparatus against Trump’s enemies. Similar to many Republicans, they’ve criticized him for a lack of intelligence experience as well.

William Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), during a news conference at the Federal Housing Finance Association (FHFA) headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, April 22, 2026. (Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

TRUMP DNI PICK BRACES FOR SENATE GRILLING AS TEMPORARY STAND-IN FUELS DEM PRESSURE

Political observers believe that Clayton would face far less opposition from the Senate over his confirmation. However, the upper chamber has so far proven unwilling to move on the president’s voter identification legislation, complicating his advancement and setting the stage for a showdown between the White House and Congress.

While lawmakers and the president go back and forth over the fate of ODNI, Gabbard has sought to spotlight the Fauci documents on her way out.

The documents she released Thursday night include some information that was already known to the public as well as others that do not appear to have been publicly reported.

Dr. Anthony Fauci testifies before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C., on June 3, 2024. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

ANTHONY FAUCI MAY BE DEPOSED AS GOP INTENSIFIES COVID INVESTIGATIONS IN NEW CONGRESS

Gabbard’s release contains newly declassified documents that show intelligence officials considered but ultimately rejected Fauci as an outside reviewer of their COVID-19 origins assessment, warning he would be seen as having a conflict of interest. 

In a different exchange, intelligence officials tasked with analyzing the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic debated whether to take Fauci’s recommendations on who to interview for their study.

«For those who don’t know me, I’m the [REDACTED] and, as such, leading the [intelligence community’s] 90-day POTUS COVID origin study,» one official wrote in an email. «Per below, Dr Fauci recommended that the IC reach out to the below individuals who were coauthors of the attached paper as part of the study.»

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard speaks to reporters in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on July 23. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

TOP 4 EXPLOSIVE MOMENTS FROM CIA WHISTLEBLOWER’S TESTIMONY ON ALLEGED COVID-19 LAB LEAK COVER-UP

Another official questioned whether it was prudent for the intelligence community to take the advice of a «policymaker» like Fauci when conducting internal affairs, «particularly given the various strong views on the subject and statements regarding their own conclusions.»

An intelligence official responded by arguing that Fauci should not be considered a policymaker in this context, but rather an important subject-matter expert.

«In this particular case, given Dr Fauci’s background we absolutely would like to follow-up on his outreach suggestions,» they wrote. «In this case he’s not a policymaker….he’s a SME with a wealth of knowledge about current and historical research who probably knows better than most who the real Coronavirus experts are.»

A CIA whistleblower previously claimed that Fauci exerted undue influence over the intelligence community’s assessment of COVID-19’s origins, claims that Gabbard now seeks to amplify with her release.

During the COVID-19 era, conservatives alleged that Fauci and other public health officials downplayed or helped steer scrutiny away from the lab-leak theory despite American financial links to coronavirus research in Wuhan, where the disease originated. Gabbard has framed her trove of documents as a look into how the intelligence community incorporated information from people like Fauci while investigating the virus’ origins.

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«Fauci worked with politicized career leadership in the Intelligence Community (IC) to suppress the truth about his actions, the virus’ lab-leak origins, and his role in directing U.S. funding for this dangerous research that caused immeasurable harm and countless lost lives,» ODNI’s press release accompanying the documents asserts. «These documents expose Fauci’s direct role in influencing and manipulating IC assessments on COVID-19, and how Fauci lied to Congress in 2024, when under oath he denied knowledge of or participation in discussions with intelligence officials about viral research.»

Gabbard left her role at ODNI to care for her husband, who has a rare form of cancer, Fox News Digital first reported.

Amenazas a la seguridad

Iván Cepeda, el candidato del oficialismo para las elecciones en Colombia. Foto: REUTERS

President Donald Trump on Friday unveiled a newly refurbished presidential aircraft at Joint Base Andrews, touting its size, luxury and updated red, white and blue paint scheme as the Air Force prepares the jet for service.

The Boeing 747-8i, donated by the government of Qatar and modified for presidential use, is expected to serve as an interim Air Force One while Boeing continues work on two delayed VC-25B replacement aircraft.

Standing alongside Air Force leaders and service members, Trump said the aircraft’s most noticeable feature is its size.

«The biggest difference is the difference in size. It’s like virtually double the size,» Trump said.

AIR FORCE ONE SCRAPS ICONIC KENNEDY-ERA PAINT SCHEME FOR TRUMP-APPROVED RED, WHITE, BLUE DESIGN

Reporters were later given a brief tour of the aircraft, which featured wood-paneled interiors, gold-toned fixtures and tan-and-gold seating throughout. Spacious cabins, large television screens and polished metallic finishes gave the jet an upscale feel.

Near the front of the aircraft, reporters viewed a private suite with lounge-style seating before passing a conference room featuring a large table, a painting of the Washington Monument overlooking the Reflecting Pool and a decorative bookcase surrounding a television screen.

The aircraft’s press cabin spans the width of the rear section of the jet and includes 24 seats arranged across three sections. Each seat is equipped with its own entertainment screen, and the cabin appeared significantly larger than the press area aboard the current Air Force One fleet.

The Air Force said the aircraft will soon begin commissioning flights, a final phase of testing before entering operational service.

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO: THE QATAR AIR FORCE ONE JET

«The safety and security of the commander in chief is our highest priority,» Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said. «From the beginning, we meticulously evaluated every requirement to accelerate delivery while maintaining the high standards expected of the presidential mission.»

Trump said he sought the aircraft after becoming frustrated with delays to Boeing’s Air Force One replacement program and growing comparisons between the aging U.S. presidential fleet and newer aircraft operated by foreign governments.

«I asked the Emir if we could use the brand new 747,» Trump said, noting the aircraft had relatively few flight hours and describing the current presidential fleet as aging.

«Our country has to be represented properly,» he added.

AIR FORCE ONE GLITCH REVIVES REPLACEMENT PUSH AS WHITE HOUSE SAYS IT ‘PROVES TRUMP WAS RIGHT AGAIN’

Donald Trump speaks in front of the new Air Force One, gifted to him by by Qatar, in a hangar at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on June 19, 2026. White House officials bade farewell on June 18, 2026, to one of the two jets that have been used to transport US presidents for more than 30 years.  (Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP)

The aircraft features Trump’s preferred red, white and dark blue color scheme, replacing the light blue-and-white design that has defined presidential aircraft since the Kennedy administration. Earlier this year, the Air Force confirmed the updated paint scheme would become the standard across the presidential and executive airlift fleet, including the VC-25B aircraft currently under development.

Trump also praised the aircraft’s interior craftsmanship and described it as «considered the world’s most luxurious plane.»

Trump said the aircraft could also play a prominent role in next year’s America 250 celebration, predicting it would lead a July 4 flyover over Washington featuring fighter jets and other military aircraft. The president called it «a flyover like no flyover» and said the display could include F-22s, F-35s and other aircraft from across the U.S. military.

The Pentagon accepted the Qatari aircraft last year and has spent recent months preparing it for presidential service. Officials have said the timeline moved more quickly than the broader Air Force One replacement effort because the aircraft’s interior required fewer modifications than the VC-25B program.

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Trump also praised the more than 250 personnel who worked around the clock to prepare the aircraft for service, saying the jet was transformed into what he called a «flying White House» in roughly 10 months.

The jet is expected to bridge the gap until Boeing delivers two next-generation Air Force One aircraft, which are not expected to be completed for roughly two more years.

Fox News Digital’s Andre Tinoco contributed to this report.