The Republican president said in a social media post just hours before Clayton\u2019s scheduled confirmation hearing that he will keep Bill Pulte, a top U.S. housing official, as acting director of national intelligence. Democratic and Republican lawmakers had opposed Trump\u2019s selection of Pulte, citing his lack of known experience in intelligence and his use of his current administration perch<\/a> to target perceived adversaries of the president \u2014 resistance that last week forced Trump to turn to Clayton.<\/p>\n The abrupt announcement creates instant uncertainty over the long-term leadership of the 18-agency intelligence community and dashes hopes for a swift renewal of a crucial surveillance program<\/a> that expired in Congress last week due to bipartisan anger over Trump\u2019s pick of Pulte.<\/p>\n That tool, Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, permits spy agencies to collect without a warrant the communications of targeted foreigners located outside the United States. National security officials across both major political parties have for years described Section 702 as vital for gathering intelligence that can disrupt terror attacks and espionage operations, though some lawmakers and civil liberties advocates have raised concerns over the government\u2019s use of information about Americans<\/a> that is incidentally collected through the program.<\/p>\n Clayton had been set to appear on Wednesday for a Senate confirmation hearing that was fast-tracked because of the program\u2019s lapse. Democrats had said they would not renew the expired surveillance programs until Trump withdrew the selection of Pulte.<\/p>\n FILE \u2013 Jay Clayton, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, listens during a news conference in New York, March 9, 2026. (AP Photo\/Seth Wenig, File)\n<\/p>\n FILE \u2013 Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency Bill Pulte speaks to reporters at the White House, July 24, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)\n<\/p>\n FILE \u2013 Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard listens during the Senate Committee on Intelligence hearings on Capitol Hill, March 18, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Jose Luis Magana, File)\n<\/p>\n Show Caption<\/p>\n 1 of 3<\/p>\n FILE \u2013 Jay Clayton, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, listens during a news conference in New York, March 9, 2026. (AP Photo\/Seth Wenig, File)\n<\/p>\n Expand<\/a><\/p>\n Trump\u2019s post suggests that debate to revive Section 702 could be indefinitely postponed. Lawmakers have sounded the alarm about the government operating without congressional authorization of the powerful spy tool.<\/p>\n A court order from last March certified that the program could continue for another 12 months, though it\u2019s possible that communications companies could challenge the government\u2019s authority to force them to cooperate and share data.<\/p>\n In his social media post, Trump accused Democrats of breaking a deal to renew the program after he nominated Clayton. Trump also said he does not want to remove Clayton from his current position as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York before his replacement, James McDonald, is approved. McDonald was named to the Justice Department post<\/a> on Saturday.<\/p>\n And Trump added another condition: linking his approval of the surveillance program to the passage of a bill requiring people to show ID to vote.<\/p>\n \u201cTherefore, to add a slight bit of intrigue but, for the Good of the Nation, and the People of our Country, I will not approve FISA without THE SAVE AMERICA ACT going along with it,\u201d Trump said, using the acronym for the surveillance program and his name for the voter ID bill.<\/p>\n The Republican-controlled Congress has not acted on the voting bill because it does not have enough support in either chamber, particularly from Democrats.<\/p>\n Trump made the announcement in Evian-les-Bains, France, where he was participating in the final day of the Group of Seven summit of leading industrial economies.<\/p>\n The intelligence director position became available after Tulsi Gabbard, who had held the job, announced last month that she was resigning<\/a> to spend time with her husband as he fights cancer.<\/p>\n Clayton, a chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission during Trump\u2019s first term, has spent the last 14 months as the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, one of the Justice Department\u2019s premier posts.<\/p>\n His office during that time facilitated the unsealing of thousands of pages of court records<\/a> from the prosecutions of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, documents that were made public as part of the Justice Department\u2019s release of records related to the late sex offender and his longtime confidant.<\/p>\n![\"Jay](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Trump_Intelligence_Director_9_41__409e86.jpg\"\/)
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