It should be clear by now that Trump is willing to undermine American domestic and global security in order to capture power and attack his political opponents. That is precisely what he has done by appointing Bill Pulte as interim Director of National Intelligence (DNI). Pulte is profoundly unfit for the office. And he is poised to abuse the power of his office, just like he has abused the power of his current office as head of the Federal Housing and Finance Agency (FHFA). He should be impeached immediately, convicted, and barred from holding public office again.

The FHFA is supposed to be an independent federal agency  committed to protecting the mortgage market. But upon taking office as its director, Pulte turned the agency into a weapon for Trump, abusing his authority to access sensitive mortgage data and making politically motivated criminal referrals to the Department of Justice of Trump critics, including Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook, Attorney General Letitia James, Senator Adam Schiff, and former Representative Eric Swalwell.

Pulte defied regulations intended to ensure impartial, nonpartisan decisions over criminal referrals, including by cutting the FHFA’s inspector general out of the investigation and referral process. Then Pulte helped gut the agency’s oversight mechanisms. Acting FHFA inspector Joe Allen was removed from his position after he shared with the DOJ the results of an ethics investigation into senior FHFA officials, which he was constitutionally and legally obligated to do. Dozens of ethics officials were fired while the investigations were ongoing. At every turn, Pulte abused the power of his office to carry out Trump’s vindictive agenda and to shield himself and his allies from ethical oversight.

And now he is in charge of the nation’s eighteen intelligence agencies, with their vast resources, ability to conduct secretive and mass surveillance, and access to incalculable amounts of sensitive, private data.

Pulte is legally unqualified for the position. By law, “[a]ny individual nominated for appointment as Director of National Intelligence shall have extensive national security expertise.” Pulte has none. But to Trump, this doesn’t matter. He has experience doing what Trump wants: abusing the power of his office to seek retribution against Trump’s critics.

It is clear that the same abuses that have characterized Pulte’s term at the FHFA will define his term as DNI. Trump has already indicated that Pulte will investigate “rigged elections”—in other words, any election that turns out unfavorably for Trump or his allies. And Trump already called upon Pulte to “fire a lot of people” in the intelligence agencies. From what we’ve seen that Pulte has done to the FHFA, and what Trump has done to other agencies under his command, we know what this means: firing nonpartisan, career civil servants who draw Trump’s ire because they are loyal to the country and its interests, and not to Trump himself; and firing employees in charge of oversight and ethics. In other words, Pulte plans to rid himself of anyone who might put their country and the Constitution first, because those are the people who might try to block his attempts to turn the full weight of our mass surveillance infrastructure—already unconstitutional, dangerous, and ripe for abuse—and intelligence systems against our elections, and against any American who criticizes Trump.

It is clear that Trump and Pulte are trying to evade the Senate confirmation process and circumvent the law by appointing Pulte to the position temporarily. “You’re less shackled,” Trump said of the temporary appointment, “It sort of gives you more power, you know, for a somewhat limited period of time.” And Pulte is already abusing the power he should not have in the first place.

Congress cannot stand for it. Pulte must be impeached now, for his many abuses of power while at the FHFA. He should be tried, convicted, and removed from office. And then Congress must vote to disqualify him from holding any other office.