President Donald Trump said Wednesday he is “cancelling” the confirmation hearing for Jay Clayton, the attorney for the Southern District of New York, to become director of national intelligence, jeopardizing the reauthorization of key intelligence-gathering powers that have expired.
It’s unclear exactly why President Trump postponed Creighton’s confirmation hearing, which was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon. The president said in a social media post that he would review the list of complaints and adjourn the hearing hours before it was scheduled to begin. They included concerns that Bill Pulte, the president’s nominee to serve as acting DNI, would not be able to hold the job, and that Clayton’s replacement at SDNY had not yet been confirmed.
In an early morning post on Truth Social, President Trump said, “I have canceled today’s Senate hearing RE:DNI regarding the confirmation of our great patriot, Jay Clayton, and will not proceed until Jamie McDonald is confirmed as United States Attorney,” referring to Clayton’s potential successor. “In the meantime, Bill Pruitt will remain as Acting Director of National Intelligence.”
Senate Intelligence Chairman Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) confirmed that the hearing had been canceled hours after the president’s comments on Truth Social.
“It is unfortunate that the President directed Jay Clayton not to appear at today’s confirmation hearing. As the President has repeatedly stated, Mr. Clayton is a patriot and an extremely qualified candidate,” Cotton said in an X post. “Today’s hearing has unfortunately been postponed, but we look forward to moving forward with his confirmation in the near future.”
A person familiar with McDonald’s nomination told MS NOW that the White House has not yet sent confirmation to the Senate and confirmation could take a significant amount of time.
Any delay in Clayton’s confirmation could jeopardize the reauthorization of the critical intelligence agency, known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. This authority expired last week. That means the authority to conduct warrantless surveillance of communications that could pose a national security threat has expired.
Democrats have vowed not to reauthorize Mr. Pulte unless he is removed from his DNI position. Critics see Mr. Pulte as a partisan attack dog with no intelligence experience who used his role as head of the Federal Housing Administration to begin prosecuting Trump’s enemies.
Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Administrator Bill Pelt (left) and U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) Jay Clayton.
Getty Images | Reuters
In a statement, Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), the ranking member on the Intelligence Committee, called Trump’s flippant actions “an extraordinary display of dysfunction.”
“The president’s latest intervention simply highlights a simple reality: The biggest obstacle to solving these problems is not Senate Democrats or Senate Republicans.” “The chaos and confusion is coming from the White House itself.”
Warner suggested at a news conference later Wednesday that Trump might withdraw Creighton’s nomination, even though he may have bipartisan support.
“I doubt Jay Clayton knows if he’s going to defer or decline,” Warner said.
Some Republican lawmakers have expressed concerns about Mr. Pulte and are rushing to approve Mr. Creighton so he can pass FISA.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said the Senate “needs to take it one day at a time until we get more clarity on what the White House’s position is.”
President Trump also asked that the controversial voter ID bill, the SAVE America Act, be attached to the FISA reauthorization in exchange for his signature.
“So, to add a little intrigue, in the interest of our country and our people, I will not approve FISA unless the American Rescue Act is enacted,” he said in the post.
Democrats said they would not support legislation that would change voting access.
The president also accused Democrats of breaking an agreement to vote for FISA if Pulte was gone.
“Republicans moved so quickly to get the current Southern District of New York attorney, Great Jay Clayton, confirmed that Mr. Pelt will be gone before Democrats vote on FISA,” he said. “Now Democrats are saying they will vote against FISA, which means Republicans have finally made good on their promise and Democrats have broken the deal.”
However, some Republicans voiced their dissatisfaction with the president’s handling of the situation.
“Frankly, I’m once again disappointed that Sen. Thune has so meticulously and skillfully managed the process that led to Trump’s re-victory, and then that process was upended by some kind of impulsive post,” said Democratic Sen. Kevin Cramer, a Trump ally. It’s frustrating, but it’s not that unusual these days.
— CNBC’s Emily Wilkins, Karen James Sloan and Irit Skulnik contributed to this report.
