President Donald Trump canceled a Senate confirmation hearing for Jay Clayton’s nomination as director of national intelligence on Wednesday, making the hearing’s resumption contingent on the Senate approving his pick to replace Clayton as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.
In a lengthy post on Truth Social early Wednesday, Trump said he would not proceed with the hearing — scheduled for that afternoon — until Jamie McDonald is approved to be U.S. attorney. “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,” Trump wrote, according to NBC News and The Washington Post.
Clayton, a lawyer who has served as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, was nominated by Trump on June 11 after controversy erupted over the president’s initial choice for the intelligence post, Bill Pulte, who has no national security background. Pulte will remain as acting director of national intelligence while Trump’s conditions are met, the president said.
Trump also linked the DNI confirmation to broader legislative battles. He said he would not approve reauthorization of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act — a controversial surveillance tool that had lapsed due to bipartisan anger over Pulte’s appointment — unless Congress also passes his “Save America Act,” a voter ID bill that currently lacks sufficient support in either chamber, according to NBC News. “Therefore, 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 from the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, where he kept world leaders waiting nearly an hour while posting the message.
McDonald, whom Trump nominated on June 13 to replace Clayton as U.S. attorney, is a partner at the law firm Sullivan & Cromwell and previously served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York. He is also part of Trump’s legal team handling the president’s appeal of his 2024 felony convictions in the Manhattan hush money case, according to The New York Times and other outlets.
Senate Republicans had moved quickly to advance Clayton’s confirmation in hopes of breaking the FISA impasse. Senate Majority Leader John Thune had expressed support for the nomination and planned to move it to a floor vote. Democrats, while welcoming Clayton’s nomination as preferable to Pulte, had made clear they would not vote to reauthorize FISA while Pulte remained in any intelligence role, according to The Washington Post and other sources.
Sources
- NBC News — Trump’s decision to delay Clayton’s hearing, his linkage of the delay to McDonald’s confirmation and the Save America Act, and context on FISA and Section 702
- The Washington Post — Trump’s cancellation statement, the context of McDonald’s nomination, and the legislative dynamics around FISA and the voter ID bill
- Reuters — Confirmation of Trump’s statement that Clayton’s hearing would not proceed until McDonald is approved
- The New York Times — McDonald’s background as a Sullivan & Cromwell partner and member of Trump’s legal team
- PBS NewsHour — McDonald’s background and role in Trump’s legal proceedings
