Trump says Senate hearing on DNI nominee is cancelled until US attorney replacement confirmed
President Donald Trump declared in an early Wednesday morning Truth Social post that a scheduled Senate hearing on Jay Clayton's nomination to serve as director of national intelligence would not...
By Fox News · Fox News
President Donald Trump declared in an early Wednesday morning Truth Social post that a scheduled Senate hearing on Jay Clayton's nomination to serve as director of national intelligence would not move forward Wednesday. The U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence has a hearing on Clayton's nomination for DNI scheduled for Wednesday afternoon. But the president said the hearing will not take place until Jamie McDonald has been confirmed to fill the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York post. President Trump tied the move to an ongoing dispute over renewal of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, claiming Democrats backed away from an agreement to support the surveillance authority after Republicans agreed to move away from Bill Pulte as acting DNI. The provision allows U.S. intelligence agencies to collect communications of foreign targets located outside the U.S. TRUMP PICKS JAMES MCDONALD TO LEAD POWERFUL SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK AFTER JAY CLAYTON'S DEPARTURE The president further said he would not support renewal of FISA authorities unless Congress also advances the SAVE AMERICA ACT, a voting-security measure backed by the administration. Clayton's hearing had been scheduled amid a broader debate over the future of U.S. intelligence leadership and the reauthorization of key surveillance authorities. TRUMP NOMINATES JAY CLAYTON, FORMER SEC CHAIRMAN, CURRENT US ATTORNEY, AS INTELLIGENCE DIRECTOR "Regarding the approval of our Great Patriot, Jay Clayton, 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. In the meantime, Bill Pulte will remain as the Acting Director of National Intelligence. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Wednesday. Pulte "will take over on June 19th," the president declared in a post last week. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP "The Republicans agreed with Dumocra…