President Trump has canceled the Senate confirmation hearing for Jay Clayton, nominated to serve as Director of National Intelligence, tying the decision to a separate dispute over a U.S. attorney appointment.
Trump announced in a Truth Social post that Clayton’s hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee, scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, would not proceed until Jamie McDonald is confirmed as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Clayton had been nominated in part to address bipartisan concerns that acting DNI Bill Pulte lacked the qualifications and experience required for the nation’s top intelligence post.
Democrats had threatened to withhold reauthorization of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a key surveillance authority that expired on Friday, as long as Pulte remained in the acting role.
Trump accused Democrats of backing away from an agreement involving Pulte and the surveillance authority, framing Clayton’s swift confirmation as part of a deal he now says has collapsed.
Pulte, who replaced former DNI Tulsi Gabbard following her resignation, will remain in the acting role for now, despite criticism from both Democrats and some Republicans over his lack of military and intelligence experience.
Pulte is best known within the administration for launching investigations into several of Trump’s perceived political opponents on allegations of mortgage fraud and possible misuse of authority.
Targets of those investigations include Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, New York Attorney General Letitia James, Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff, and former Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell, all of whom have denied any wrongdoing.
Trump further complicated the path to a FISA deal by demanding that reauthorization of Section 702 be tied to an unrelated package of voting restrictions that has previously failed to advance in the Senate.
The president is also effectively pressuring Democrats to return “blue slips” for McDonald’s nomination, a procedural tradition that gives home-state senators significant veto power over federal prosecutor nominees.
Senate lawmakers had hoped to confirm Clayton by June 19, the date Trump had previously indicated Pulte would step fully into the acting DNI role on a temporary basis.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said last week that reversing Pulte’s temporary appointment would only be a “starting point” to convince Democrats to support FISA reauthorization, signaling that any personnel change alone would be insufficient.
Gabbard resigned from her post last month, saying she was stepping down after her husband of 11 years, Abraham Williams, was diagnosed with “an extremely rare form of bone cancer.”
Trump’s decision leaves the already uncertain path for Clayton’s confirmation in further doubt and puts the renewal of a critical national security surveillance tool in serious jeopardy.
