In a 10 June 2026 letter to President Trump, Democratic members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) criticized his decision to appoint Bill Pulte as Acting Director of Intelligence. They urged him to “rescind his appointment immediately,” admonishing (emphasis added):
However, if you insist on moving forward with this appointment with all the attendant risk to national security, Mr. Pulte must undergo a full security clearance process that includes an examination of his financial holdings and foreign contacts. Additionally, Mr. Pulte should be subject to polygraph screening and any other appropriate measure to protect national security….
The letter, which was also the subject of a press release, was signed by Ranking Member Representative Jim Himes (CT-04) as well as Representatives André Carson (IN-07), Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08), Jason Crow (CO-06), Ami Bera (CA-06), Josh Gottheimer (NJ-05), Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06), Mike Quigley (IL-05), and Steve Cohen (TN-09).
These Representatives’ belief that Pulte should be subject to polygraph screening echos the view expressed by U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Vice Chairman Mark Warner (D-VA) on CNN three days earlier.
Their faith in polygraphs is entirely misplaced. Early in this century, the National Research Council conducted an exhaustive review of the scientific evidence on the polygraph and concluded that “its accuracy in distinguishing actual or potential security violators from innocent test takers is insufficient to justify reliance on its use in employee security screening in federal agencies.”
Rather than calling for polygraph testing of anyone, Congress should pass a Comprehensive Employee Polygraph Protection Act rescinding the governmental exemptions to the Employee Polygraph Protection Act and extending to public employees the same protections from the pseudoscience of polygraphy that most Americans have enjoyed since 1988.