President Donald Trump announced on June 17 that he is canceling the Senate confirmation hearing for Jay Clayton as director of national intelligence (DNI) until Jamie McDonald is confirmed as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Clayton’s current post [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]. On Twitter-like platform Truth Social, Trump said, "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" [3].
Clayton previously served as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission and currently holds the U.S. Attorney position in the Southern District of New York [1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 8]. He is seen as more acceptable to some Republicans and may gain bipartisan support despite lacking an intelligence background [1, 9, 8]. Clayton publicly expressed skepticism about election integrity during the 2024 California elections [1].
Bill Pulte, head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, remains acting DNI and is expected to become the official director in the coming days [1, 3, 4, 10, 5, 6, 7]. Pulte has no prior intelligence experience and has faced bipartisan criticism, with Senator Mark Warner saying Trump "treats our national security like a political bargaining chip" and calling Trump’s actions a "live hand grenade" [1, 4, 10, 6, 9]. Senator Mark Kelly voiced concern over Pulte taking the DNI role even temporarily [9].
The Senate Intelligence Committee initially planned to proceed with Clayton’s confirmation hearing unless Trump directed otherwise, leading to disagreement on whether the hearing would go ahead as scheduled [3, 9] versus Trump’s announcement that it was canceled [1, 7]. Senator John Thune called Clayton "an eminently qualified individual" and said he looked forward to processing the nomination this week [9].
In a broader move, Trump tied a renewal of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to the passage of a controversial voter ID and citizenship proof bill known as the Save America Act [1, 4, 10, 5, 6, 7]. Section 702 expired recently, causing a lapse in certain surveillance authorities [1, 3, 4, 10, 6, 7]. Trump said, "I will not approve FISA without the Save America Act going along with it" [6]. Democrats have vowed not to renew Section 702 while Pulte remains acting DNI and generally oppose his nomination [1, 3, 4, 10, 6, 9, 7].
Tulsi Gabbard resigned as DNI last month in May 2026 [1, 4]. The Senate hearing cancellation leaves a gap as Pulte is set to officially take over as DNI on June 19 [10, 7].
