A Senate hearing to start the process of confirming President Donald Trump’s pick to be the Director of National Intelligence, Jay Clayton, went up in flames early Wednesday morning. And, though at times Wednesday it looked as if the Senate might move forward despite the president’s erratic demands, by mid-afternoon Clayton’s path to director was a hopelessly tangled mess. The fracas saw even Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Tom Cotton (R-AR), a dependable pro-Trump voice, grumbling publicly about the White House.
It all began with a predictably lengthy social media post, sent out shortly before 4 a.m, in which Trump said that the Senate Intelligence Committee confirmation hearing for Clayton — scheduled to take place later that day — would be cancelled, adding that it won’t happen until Jamie McDonald — who is nominated to replace Clayton’s current role as the Attorney for the Southern District of New York — is confirmed.
“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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
To make things even more complicated, Trump said that he would not sign a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) extension unless Congress also passes the Save America Act, a far-right voter suppression bill that would require people to provide proof of citizenship and photo ID to be able to vote.
“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,” Trump wrote.
Democrats, alongside many Senate Republicans, have been unhappy that Bill Pulte, a MAGA loyalist whose grandfather founded a major home construction business and who has no experience in intelligence or national security, was assigned by Trump to be the acting Director of National Intelligence. That frustration boiled over in the past few weeks as Democrats said they would not vote to extend Section 702 of FISA, a controversial spying tool, as long as Pulte was in line to become the acting DNI.
With the help of Senate Democrats, Senate GOP leadership was hoping to fast track Clayton’s confirmation in order to avoid having Pulte, who also runs the Federal Housing Finance Agency, start his position as the acting DNI later this week. But the president’s interference makes it almost certain Pulte would be assuming the role come Friday.
The president, of course, cannot unilaterally cancel Senate meetings. That triggered Cotton to go on social media Wednesday morning and, seemingly in a subtle (and out of character) dig at Trump, say that the scheduled hearing for Clayton would take place unless “the president directs him not to appear or withdraws his nomination.”
Jay Clayton is a pending nominee before the Intelligence Committee. We will proceed with his hearing as scheduled unless the president directs him not to appear or withdraws his nomination.
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) June 17, 2026
Hours later, Cotton was back on X, now saying the hearing was cancelled because Trump “directed Jay Clayton not to appear at his confirmation hearing today.”
It’s regrettable that the president has directed Jay Clayton not to appear at his confirmation hearing today. Mr. Clayton is a patriot and a highly qualified nominee, as the president has said repeatedly. While today’s hearing is now unfortunately postponed, I look forward to…
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) June 17, 2026
Trump’s social media post also threw the revival of a controversial part of FISA in further doubt.
Democrats already said they would not vote in support of Section 702 as long as Pulte is the acting DNI. If any of them were having second thoughts about that position, Trump’s SAVE Act demands will steel their spines.
A group of MAGA lawmakers have been pushing their colleagues to take up and pass the controversial and highly unpopular bill since Trump returned to office. The bill, subject to the filibuster, just simply does not have the votes in the Senate, with many Republican senators also against it. But advocates of the bill have been relentless in their calls, going as far as calling for the filibuster to be eliminated in order pass the GOP’s voter suppression bill.
Over the past couple of months, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has repeatedly conveyed that the Senate GOP not only does not have the votes for the bill but also no appetite to nuke the filibuster over it.
