President Donald Trump announced a new nominee to replace outgoing Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence (DNI) after his temporary pick threw Congress into chaos.
The Controversial Pick
As reported on Friday’s AM Update, President Trump moved to defuse growing backlash over his temporary pick to lead the Intelligence Community on Thursday, nominating U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton to serve as the next DNI.
The president posting to Truth Social that Clayton is “very highly respected,” pointing to his work as former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), former head of the law firm Sullivan & Cromwell, and, most recently, U.S. attorney.
The nomination, which requires Senate confirmation, followed more than a week of bipartisan blowback over Trump’s plan to install Bill Pulte, the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, as acting DNI. Unlike Clayton’s nomination for the permanent job, Pulte’s acting role did not require Congressional approval.
The DNI position sits at the top of the U.S. intelligence structure, coordinating work across 18 agencies. Pulte is expected to assume the acting role on June 19 and, according to The New York Times, President Trump wants him to use the temporary role to keep cutting down the DNI office after Gabbard already made deep reductions.
But Pulte’s appointment quickly triggered alarm from Democrats and some Republicans who questioned why a housing official with no national security experience would be put in charge of the nation’s intelligence community, even on a temporary basis.
The FISA Fight
The fight is now threatening Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), the surveillance authority allowing U.S. agencies to collect communications from foreign targets overseas without a warrant.
Democrats warning they would not support an extension unless the White House dropped Pulte. On Thursday, the House rejected a three-week extension by a 198 to 218 vote after 19 Republicans and nearly all Democrats voted no.
The rejection was especially notable because, despite long-running privacy concerns around the program, lawmakers in both parties prepared to renew it under a compromise deal. The law is now set to expire at midnight Friday, and The Times reported that Congress is leaving town for a recess and some lawmakers are believed to be headed overseas, making another vote before the deadline difficult to schedule.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) accused Democrats of gambling with national security to pressure the president over Pulte, telling reporters that Trump was “fulfilling his responsibility” by “[naming] someone who would serve for a very short period of time, while he seeks a new director of national intelligence.”
“The questions are for the Democrats in the House and Senate, why they’re willing to jeopardize the lives of millions of Americans to make a political point because they have a disagreement about someone that the president has appointed for a short-term position,” he said. “It is absurd. There is no way to defend it, and… the Capitol Hill press should be chasing every Democrat before they go get on planes and leave so proud of themselves that they just jeopardized the safety of every American citizen.”
Democrats, for their part, argued President Trump created the problem by nominating the 38-year-old Pulte in the first place.
For now, the FISA fight remains at a standstill. The House began recess Thursday and the next votes are not expected until Tuesday, June 23. Speaker Johnson does not appear eager to call lawmakers back early. But Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) has said even if the program lapses, most FISA powers will remain in effect until 2027 due to a built-in safety mechanism.
Possible Resolution
Looking ahead, Clayton’s nomination appears to give both sides a way to move forward. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) praised him as “a very qualified professional,” whole Democrat Congressman Jim Himes, ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, also welcomed the pick. He called Clayton a “terrific” choice for DNI.
Meanwhile, President Trump stood by Pulte as acting DNI while speaking from the Oval Office Thursday. “He’s intelligent, unlike a lot of other people. He’s only there for a little while. He’s running it for a short while, while getting a very talented person, Jay Clayton, in,” he told reporters. “Bill will run it for a short while. He’s done a fantastic job at Fannie Mae Freddie Mac… It’s probably worth a trillion dollars now… He’s done a great job. He’s a smart guy.”
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