President Donald Trump forced the Senate to postpone the Wednesday confirmation hearing for Jay Clayton as his next intelligence director amid a wider spat with congressional Republicans over the Iran peace deal and other matters.
"It's regrettable that the president has directed Jay Clayton not to appear at his confirmation hearing today," Senate Intelligence Chairman Tom Cotton said on X, adding that he plans to reschedule "in the near future."
Trump's maneuver threw a wrench into Senate leaders' plans to quickly install Clayton in the top spy post before loyalist Bill Pulte — who faced significant pushback from Democrats and some Republicans — could take the position on an acting basis. Pulte is scheduled to start in the intelligence job on Friday.
Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the intelligence panel, had said Clayton could be approved as soon as this week — a turbocharged process that would require agreement from all 100 senators. Such agreement would become much more difficult, if not impossible, without a hearing to vet the nominee.
On Wednesday morning, Warner in a statement said, "National security cannot be governed by social media post."
"The president's latest intervention only underscores a simple reality: the biggest obstacle to resolving these issues has not been Senate Democrats or Senate Republicans," Warner said. "It has been the chaos and confusion coming from the White House itself."
The delay is the latest friction between Trump and congressional Republicans, who are pressing the Trump administration for details on the US-Iran interim peace deal, about which they've been kept largely in the dark.
Clayton is a more palatable pick for Democrats than Pulte, who has used his powers as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency to launch investigations into the mortgages of perceived Trump opponents. Clayton currently serves as the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York and was previously the chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission from 2017 to 2020.
Trump has demanded Clayton's confirmation be held until his pick to replace Clayton as a prosecutor for Wall Street, Jamie McDonald, is confirmed by the Senate.
"In the meantime, Bill Pulte will remain as the Acting Director of National Intelligence," Trump posted.
Trump defended Pulte serving in an acting capacity, saying that his ally will be interim DNI for as long as it takes.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he was seeking more information from the White House, adding that his chamber will "have to take it a day at a time until we get more clarity."
The president also reiterated his insistence that he would not approve a renewal of spying powers that expired last week until the Senate passes an overhaul of voting rules. The voting measure already failed to pass the Republican-controlled House and Senate earlier this month.
Trump vented his anger at his fellow Republicans in the Senate, saying that they "fell into a trap" set by Democrats to prevent Pulte from serving as acting intelligence director. Republicans and Democrats have said that Pulte, Trump's housing finance chief who lacks national security experience, is unqualified for the post.
