Trump Derails FISA Plans and Cancels Clayton Confirmation Hearing

President Donald Trump said Wednesday he’s canceling Jay Clayton’s Senate confirmation hearing to become director of national intelligence. The announcement, made in a Truth Social post, further derailed plans for Congress to reauthorize a crucial surveillance program that lapsed last week.

Trump’s maneuver all but assures that Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, will serve as acting intelligence chief starting Friday. The Trump administration had nominated Clayton, who is serving as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, to serve in the role after Democrats blocked plans to renew Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act over Pulte’s appointment.

Pulte has no intelligence background and drew bipartisan criticism for his lack of experience. Senate Republicans had hoped to quickly confirm Clayton following his Wednesday hearing to gain Democratic support to reauthorize FISA and to avoid having Pulte in the interim intelligence post altogether.

But Trump nixed those goals with the sudden cancellation of Clayton’s hearing, which the Senate Intelligence Committee had scheduled for Wednesday afternoon. Typically, the panel itself, led by Chair Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) and Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat, would control whether the hearing was canceled.

Trump also said in Wednesday’s post that he would not move Clayton from his federal prosecutor post until the Senate confirmed Trump’s pick to replace him, private practice lawyer Jamie McDonald.

“We are cancelling the Senate Hearing RE: DNI today, and will not be going forward until Jamie McDonald is approved to be U.S. Attorney,” Trump said. “In the meantime, Bill Pulte will remain as the Acting Director of National Intelligence.”

The White House declined to comment on when Pulte would start as acting DNI and referred NOTUS to Trump’s post.

In his post, Trump expressed frustration over the expired surveillance program, which accounts for more than 60% of his daily briefing, according to the National Security Agency, and reiterated his call for Congress to pass a voter ID bill that many Republican lawmakers would like dropped.

“Therefore, 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,” Trump said.

Democrats in both chambers had previously blocked short-term extensions of the surveillance law, saying they would not vote to reauthorize the program if Pulte serves any time in the position. Lawmakers have been split on the consequences of the program going dark, though it is generally seen as essential to U.S. surveillance abroad.

This story was updated to include the White House’s response.