Republicans Urge White House to Name Permanent Director of National Intelligence to Free Up FISA

Republicans are encouraging the White House to name a permanent director of national intelligence to succeed Tulsi Gabbard and prevent critical spy powers from going dark after Friday.

Legislation to reauthorize the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, has been held up since Friday after the Trump administration announced that Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, would take over as interim director next month. Pulte was criticized by both parties as a highly partisan pick with no intelligence background.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters Tuesday that he encouraged the White House to name a long-term director of national intelligence to allow FISA to be reauthorized, a consideration he said the White House is “weighing seriously.”

“We’re encouraging it –– at least I am,” Thune said. “Getting some certainty and closure on that issue about who that might be will certainly play an important role in unlocking the support that we need to get FISA done.”

Trump so far has not taken the advice, saying in a Truth Social post on Tuesday evening that Pulte would add the intelligence job to his portfolio on June 19.

Republicans have largely left the White House to negotiate a way forward with Senate Democrats after they voted not to move forward on the bill on Friday.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Pulte has “no obvious qualifications,” adding that he sees naming a permanent director of national intelligence as the only path forward for getting Democrats to support the program’s reauthorization. It would require 60 votes.

“The president’s got a choice,” Cornyn said. “If he wants the FISA reauthorization passed, that sounds like the price that they’re going to demand … By going dark, it makes this more dangerous for the country.”

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, told NOTUS on Tuesday that a new selection process is underway.

“They’re interviewing people now,” Grassley said. “They’re going to get a permanent person in.”

Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), the Democratic chief deputy whip, told NOTUS he believes naming a permanent director would be enough to move Democrats to vote for reauthorization.

“That sounds pretty good to me,” Schatz said.

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Virginia), the top Democrat on Senate Intelligence, said negotiations are still “ongoing,” adding that he “remains hopeful” about a path forward.

House Speaker Mike Johnson went to the White House on Tuesday to meet with President Donald Trump. Johnson told reporters that he had a “productive meeting” with the president and discussed the naming a permanent director of national intelligence, but declined to share details.

“We cannot allow FISA to go dark; it’d be a dangerous prospect,” Johnson said.

House Republicans are also discussing a 45-day stopgap funding bill in case Democrats continue to oppose a more permanent extension of the program, two sources told NOTUS.

Warner did not answer questions about whether Senate Democrats would be open to a short-term extension, but the prospect didn’t garner much support in the House.

“That’s so messy,” Rep. Jim Himes (D-Connecticut), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said of the short-term extension.

“The right thing to do is to take the Bill Pulte appointment off the table,” Himes added. He said leadership has not reached out to him about negotiations yet as they’re waiting on the Senate.

The fight over Pulte follows months of negotiations over the program itself.

FISA allows the U.S. to spy on its adversaries and is essential to U.S. surveillance, but its renewal is controversial. Privacy hawks argue that Americans’ communications can be accidentally swept up and later searched without a warrant, and are pushing for more safeguards. Most Senate Democrats remain ardently opposed to voting for a program that would be overseen by Pulte.

Congress voted in April to extend FISA temporarily to give lawmakers more time to negotiate changes to put in surveillance safeguards. Grassley and Senate Intelligence Chair Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) worked with Warner to draft a reauthorization measure that could garner some Democratic support.

The negotiated reauthorization measure includes revisions like a three-year ban on the Federal Reserve issuing a digital currency as well as a narrowing of the definition of an “electronic communications service provider,” two issues that delayed the April vote on the measure.