This week on The Hill: Senate tees up Clayton DNI nomination as FISA talks stall

The Senate Intelligence Committee this week is set to hold a confirmation hearing for Jay Clayton, President Trump’s pick to serve as director of national intelligence, as lawmakers search for a solution to revive the government’s lapsed warrantless surveillance authority.

Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) expired on June 12 after Congress failed to reach an agreement on even a short-term extension, leaving lawmakers searching for a path forward.

Democrats have signaled they will oppose moving any extension until Trump withdraws his appointment of Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence.

But Trump has shown no indication he is willing to make that concession.

“He’s only there for a little while,” Trump said. “He’s running it for a short while, while we get a very talented person, Jay Clayton.”

The standoff is further complicating efforts to restore Section 702, a tool intelligence officials say is critical for monitoring foreign threats and gathering national security intelligence.

Even if senators manage to break the logjam and advance a FISA extension this week, the House is out of session, meaning any legislation cleared by the upper chamber would likely have to wait until next week for final consideration.

What you can expect this week:

Clayton confirmation hearing set for Wednesday: Members of the Senate Intelligence Committee will hear from Clayton, Trump’s pick to be the next director of national intelligence.

Congress at impasse over FISA: Senate Democrats say they won’t back a FISA Section 702 extension unless Trump drops Pulte

Senate GOP turns attention to reconciliation 3.0: Senate Republicans are beginning to lay the groundwork for a third party-line spending bill.

Key Senate committee to hold nomination hearing for Clayton

The Senate Intelligence Committee will hold a nomination hearing this Wednesday for Clayton, a former Securities and Exchange Commission chair, an indication leaders hope to move quickly to confirm him as a way out of the FISA impasse.

Clayton currently serves as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, considered one of the top districts to serve as a prosecutor, handling major cases such as the prosecution of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

His nomination had received bipartisan praise. Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, wrote in social platform X post that he’s “known and respected” Clayton for decades, saying his “intelligence, temperament and deep commitment to public service” will make Clayton a “terrific” director of national intelligence.

“Had this nomination been made a week ago, lots of pain might have been avoided,” Himes wrote.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) called Clayton “a vast improvement” but questioned “whether he has experience in the area of national intelligence and we’ll see whether that is sufficient to justify moving forward on his nomination.”

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who had been critical of Pulte, wrote on X that Clayton “is an OUTSTANDING choice” by Trump.

“Jay is a proven leader with a distinguished record of public service and sound judgment needed to lead our intelligence community. I look forward to working with my colleagues to ensure his swift confirmation,” he said.

Democrats show no signs of relenting on FISA

Senate Democrats are showing no signs of relenting in the standoff over Section 702, insisting that Trump drop Pulte. They also said that Trump’s nomination of Clayton is not enough to sway them to support a Section 702 extension as long as Pulte is serving as the acting director of national intelligence.

“He has got to go. Period,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said last week. “I support getting rid of Pulte. That’s unequivocal.”

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the only “path out” to securing an extension of Section 702 would be to have outgoing Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard or her deputy, Aaron Lukas, step in to serve as the acting director.

Warner said there needs to be “a clear guarantee” that Pulte will not serve as acting director of national intelligence. “Either Director Gabbard must remain in place, or the administration must designate the Senate-confirmed principal deputy … as the acting head through any transition.”

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) had put a short-term FISA extension on the floor last week under a fast-track process called suspension of the rules, which would require two-thirds support to succeed. However, a majority of Democrats ended up opposing the extension.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) called the effort a “show vote,” adding that Republicans “knew the bill would go down in flames.”

Senate Democrats also blocked a short-term extension of FISA that was put to the floor last week.

Senate GOP turns attention to reconciliation 3.0

Senate Republicans are turning their attention to passing a third budget reconciliation bill, a heavy lift for the majority party in a high-stakes midterm election year.

Trump had urged Republicans in a Truth Social post to pass a $350 billion bill that would include the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act, legislation requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections and an ID to cast a ballot.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters earlier this week that a third budget reconciliation package to fund the military is on the table.

“If there’s a good reason to do another reconciliation bill, if there’s support for it, then my assumption is that it will be something that could get 218 in the House and 50 votes in the Senate,” Thune said. “I know the House is working through some of that. We’re involved in some of those conversations and discussions. I think a lot of it would probably be centered around funding the military.”

But some Senate Republicans have said a third process would put their vulnerable GOP colleagues in a tough political position.

“I understand the necessity of funding defense,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who lost his GOP primary to Trump-backed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, said. But he warned another grueling battle over budget reconciliation “is not going to make the election any easier.”

Discussions over a third reconciliation bill are likely to continue this week.

Rebecca Beitsch and Alexander Bolton contributed to this report.

This week on The Hill: Senate tees up Clayton DNI nomination as FISA talks stall

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