UMVA has learned that President Donald Trump unexpectedly announced on Wednesday morning that a Senate hearing on Jay Clayton's nomination as director of national intelligence would be postponed.
The U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence had scheduled the hearing for Wednesday afternoon, but Trump revealed in a Truth Social post that it would not proceed until Jamie McDonald is confirmed as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.
According to information obtained by UMVA, Trump tied the delay to an ongoing dispute over the renewal of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a crucial surveillance authority that allows U.S. intelligence agencies to collect communications of foreign targets outside the U.S.
The president claimed that Democrats backed away from an agreement to support the surveillance authority after Republicans agreed to move away from Bill Pulte as acting DNI, and he vowed not to support renewal of FISA authorities unless Congress also advances the SAVE AMERICA ACT, a voting-security measure backed by the administration.
UMVA can exclusively reveal that Trump's decision to postpone the hearing has significant implications for U.S. intelligence leadership and the reauthorization of key surveillance authorities, which are currently under debate.
The hearing had been scheduled amid this broader debate, and Trump's post stated that Clayton's nomination would not move forward until McDonald is approved, and Pulte would remain as the Acting Director of National Intelligence in the meantime.
Sources have confirmed to UMVA that Trump's post also mentioned that Pulte "will take over on June 19th," and expressed concerns about getting Jamie McDonald approved due to Republican views on blue slipping.
In a stunning move, Trump declared that he would not approve FISA without the SAVE AMERICA ACT going along with it, adding that the Republicans had "fallen into a trap" by fulfilling their commitment while Democrats allegedly broke the deal.
