In a surprise move, President Donald Trump temporarily pulled the plug on his own Director of National Intelligence (DNI) nominee, keeping controversial housing official Bill Pulte in line to take over as acting DNI.
Confirmation Chaos
As reported on Thursday’s AM Update, the president unexpectedly called off Wednesday’s Senate confirmation hearing for Jay Clayton, his nominee to permanently lead the nation’s Intelligence Community.
The move means Pulte, the 38-year-old head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency with no intelligence background, remains in line to take over as acting DNI when Tulsi Gabbard leaves the post Friday.
According to The New York Times, the president wants Pulte to continue shrinking the DNI office – which coordinates work across 18 agencies – following major cuts already carried out under Gabbard. But the selection has drawn resistance from Democrats and even some Republicans who have cited Pulte’s lack of national security experience.
The Backlash
Dems refused to support an extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) as long as Pulte was set to take over, increasing pressure on President Trump to name a permanent director. Last week, the president announced Clayton only hours before the surveillance authority expired, but it was too late for Congress to act because the House already away on recess.
Senate Republicans then raced to move Clayton through confirmation, scheduling his hearing within days and preparing for a committee vote as soon as Thursday. That was before Trump announced the decision to postpone Clayton’s nomination in a lengthy Truth Social post early Wednesday while attending the G7 summit in France.
The president argued Senate Republicans moved too quickly on Clayton’s nomination and put Pulte on track to leave before Democrats were required to deliver their votes renewing FISA. “Now, the Dumocrats are saying they will vote against FISA — So, the Republicans wound up having fulfilled their commitment, but Dumocrats broke the Deal,” he wrote, in part.
President Trump also insisted Clayton remain in his current position as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York until the Senate confirms his proposed replacement due to concerns nominee Jamie McDonald could be blocked under the Senate’s blue-slip tradition that allows home-state senators to object to certain U.S. attorney and judicial nominees.
And then Trump further upped the ante. “To add a slight bit of intrigue but, for the Good of the Nation, and the People of our Country, I will not approve FISA without THE SAVE AMERICA ACT going along with it,” he wrote
The overnight announcement caught Senate Republicans off guard. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), who chairs the Intelligence Committee, responded it was “regrettable that the president has directed Jay Clayton not to appear at his confirmation hearing today.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), meanwhile, told CBS News he had not received any clarity from the White House. He later told reporters, “I can only do what I can do here.”
Trump’s Ultimatum
President Trump, meanwhile, defended Pulte and the decision to halt Clayton’s confirmation from the G7 on Wednesday. He said Pulte will serve as acting DNI for “as long as it takes to get everybody else approved.”
“I mean, they were doing a rush act and we didn’t get anything for it. Look, he’s a very legitimate guy, he’s very smart, he’s a brilliant guy,” the president explained. “So, we put them there, but all of a sudden it was like a rush act by the Dumocrats, and they said they were going to approve FISA, and I said, but we want FISA approved, but we want the SAVE America Act approved.”
The SAVE Act would require individuals to provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote and show photo identification to vote in federal elections. It would also end mail-in voting, except in instances of illness, disability, travel, and military service.
An amendment to include the Protection for Women and Girls in Sports Act has also been proposed, which would restrict federally funded educational institutions from permitting men to participate in women’s athletic programs, as well as a nationwide ban on gender-transition procedures for minors.
“We want the SAVE America Act approved – voter ID, proof of citizenship, no mail-in ballots, with exceptions, like for the military, you’re sick, you’re traveling, disabled,” the president said. “We also want no men playing in women’s sports; we want no transgender mutilation of our children, none… That’s all we want. It’s not a lot… That can be passed anyway they want to pass it, but I’m not going to sign FISA.”
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