Jay Clayton DNI hearing in jeopardy as Trump says he will cancel meeting

"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," Trump said in an early morning Truth Social post, referring to his pick to replace Clayton. "In the meantime, Bill Pulte will remain as the Acting Director of National Intelligence." Any delay in Clayton's confirmation could imperil the reauthorization of a critical intelligence authority, known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act . The authority expired last week, meaning there is a lapse in authority for warrantless surveillance of communications that may involve national security threats. Democrats have vowed to not reapprove the authority unless Pulte is removed from the DNI post. Critics view Pulte as a partisan attack dog with no intelligence experience who used his role atop a federal housing agency to gin up prosecutions of Trump's enemies. Sen. Mark Warner , D-Va., the ranking member of the Intelligence Committee, in a statement called Trump's about-face an "extraordinary display of dysfunction." "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," he said. …