The president linked the move to his efforts to pass voting restrictions and said Jay Clayton’s hearing would be delayed until his replacement as U.S. attorney is confirmed.
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President Donald Trump said early Wednesday that his administration would cancel a planned Senate hearing to review his pick to serve as director of national intelligence, linking the nomination to his weeks-long efforts to pass new voting restrictions.
Trump had tapped Jay Clayton, who is serving as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, to fill the intelligence post. The president then nominated Jamie McDonald, a lawyer in private practice, on Saturday to replace Clayton.
But Trump said on his Truth Social platform Wednesday that he would not proceed with the Clayton hearing for now, leaving Bill Pulte — a housing official who has no national security experience — as intelligence director. Trump also reiterated his call that the voting bill, the Save America Act, must be linked with efforts to pass national security legislation.
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“We are canceling the Senate Hearing RE: DNI today, and will not be going forward until Jamie McDonald is approved to be U.S. Attorney,” Trump wrote. “In the meantime, Bill Pulte will remain as the Acting Director of National Intelligence.”
Trump’s decision to nominate Clayton came after a last-ditch effort to renew Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act failed on Friday. Democrats had signaled they would support Clayton in a move that could open a path for Congress to reauthorize Section 702. In his post, Trump said he would not approve FISA without the Save America Act “going along with it.”
Trump appointed Pulte, the head of a mortgage regulation agency, as acting director of national intelligence this month to replace Tulsi Gabbard. She announced her resignation in May, saying she was leaving the post because of her husband’s bone cancer diagnosis.
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This is a developing story and will be updated.
