Top Senate Democrat knocks ‘chaos and confusion’ from White House over delayed Clayton nomination

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Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) sharply criticized President Trump on Wednesday for the delaying the nomination of Jay Clayton to be director of national intelligence (DNI).

“What we’re witnessing is an extraordinary display of dysfunction from a president who seems determined to turn America’s national security into a political bargaining chip,” Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, wrote on social platform X.

Earlier Wednesday, the president said he is pausing the nomination of Clayton to DNI until Congress reauthorizes the federal government’s warrantless spy powers and passes a voter ID bill. Trump also called on the Senate to confirm James McDonald, his choice to succeed Clayton as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY).

Trump has made the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act a top priority for months. The bill proposes requiring Americans to provide proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections.

He has also called on Congress to extend Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which provides the federal government with the ability to conduct warrantless surveillance of foreign nationals.

The SAVE America Act has stalled in the Senate due to some GOP senators’ unwillingness to change the filibuster rules to bypass the 60-vote threshold to approve legislation.

Section 702 of FISA, meanwhile, lapsed on Friday amid Democratic opposition to Trump appointing Bill Pulte as acting DNI. Pulte is set to enter the post on June 19, succeeding the outgoing Tulsi Gabbard.

Trump on Wednesday tied the two measures together, writing on Truth Social that he “will not approve FISA without THE SAVE AMERICA ACT going along with it.”

The president added that until the two bills reach his desk and the Senate approves McDonald to succeed Clayton at SDNY, Pulte “will remain” as acting DNI.

Warner argued the back-and-forth is “threatening to derail” Clayton’s confirmation process and the “bipartisan” reauthorization of FISA. Before Trump tapped Pulte to serve as acting DNI, congressional Democrats expressed openness to extending the government’s spy powers.

“At every turn, the president has injected more uncertainty into a process that should be focused on one thing: keeping the American people safe,” the Virginia Democrat added. “National security cannot be governed by social media post.

“The president’s latest intervention only underscores a simple reality: the biggest obstacle to resolving these issues has not been Senate Democrats or Senate Republicans. It has been the chaos and confusion coming from the White House itself.”

Clayton is set to appear before the Intelligence panel at 2 p.m. EDT for a confirmation hearing.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), the chair of the committee, said Wednesday the committee will proceed with Clayton’s hearing “as scheduled unless the president directs him not to appear or withdraws his nomination.”

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