In a post on Truth Social, President Donald Trump announced early Wednesday that the Senate hearing regarding Jay Clayton’s nomination for director of national intelligence won’t happen as planned.
The U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence had arranged a hearing on Clayton’s nomination for Wednesday afternoon. However, Trump stated that the hearing would be postponed until Jamie McDonald is confirmed as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.
The president connected this decision to the ongoing discussions about updating Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. He claimed that Democrats had withdrawn from an agreement concerning acting director Bill Pelt and the surveillance powers that allow U.S. intelligence agencies to collect communications from foreign targets located outside the country.
In another twist, Trump expressed he wouldn’t back the renewal of FISA authorities unless Congress also makes progress on the Save America Act, a voting safety measure the administration supports.
Clayton’s hearing was set against a backdrop of broader discussions about leadership within the U.S. intelligence community and the reauthorization of essential oversight powers.
In his post, Trump declared, “Today we are canceling the Senate hearing regarding the confirmation of great patriot Jay Clayton, which will not proceed until Jamie McDonald is confirmed as United States Attorney. In the meantime, Bill Pelt will remain as Acting Director of National Intelligence.” He thanked followers for their attention.
Trump also announced that McDonald would assume office on June 19. Earlier in the week, he noted that Republicans and Democrats had previously struck a deal that involved removing Pelt in exchange for FISA approval. He lamented that Republicans moved too quickly on the hearings for Clayton, leaving Democrats no time to vote on FISA, leading to their current opposition.
He further elaborated on the insistence that he must approve the new U.S. Attorney, Jamie McDonald, and highlighted the complexities surrounding the approval process due to partisan issues. Trump expressed concerns about the implications of FISA without accompanying measures.
