Trump DNI pick braces for Senate grilling as temporary stand-in fuels Dem pressure
Former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Walter "Jay" Clayton was set to face senators at what was expected to be a tense confirmation hearing to become director of national...
By Fox News · Fox News
Former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Walter "Jay" Clayton was set to face senators at what was expected to be a tense confirmation hearing to become director of national intelligence Wednesday. But President Donald Trump abruptly halted the proceedings, declaring in an early morning Truth Social post that Clayton's confirmation hearing would not move forward Wednesday. While Trump commands a great deal of authority, he can't cancel a hearing on the Hill on his own. But, sources familiar with the matter told Fox News Digital that it'd be "hard to have a hearing without a witness." The presumably postponed hearing had been set against the backdrop of’ Democrats’ weeks-long uproar over President Donald Trump ’s temporary pick for the job — homebuilder scion and Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte. Clayton is currently serving as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, which is considered the most prominent of the dozens of national posts – with alumni ranging from Rudy Giuliani to Preet Bharara. TRUMP NOMINATES JAY CLAYTON, FORMER SEC CHAIRMAN, CURRENT US ATTORNEY, AS INTELLIGENCE DIRECTOR Sen. Mark Kelly , D-Ariz., a top Trump critic, told reporters Tuesday that concerns over Pulte could actually help push Clayton through once he appears before the Intelligence Committee. "[I] would love to hear some reassurance from the White House that Bill Pulte is not going to take over as DNI, even for a very short period of time, but that I don't anticipate that coming," he said. Kelly said that Pulte looming over the intelligence community might be an "incentive" to move Clayton through "on a faster timeline." TRUMP NAMES BILL PULTE ACTING DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE "But to do that, we have to have everybody in the committee," he said. Democrats have accused Pulte of playing politics with his powers at FHFA and worry that his lack of intel credentials and alleged partisanship endanger the role of DNI. Trump dismissed s…