Trump calls for delay of spy nominee's confirmation, wants voter ID law

US President Donald Trump has requested a delay in the confirmation hearing of Jay Clayton as director of national intelligence to pressure Congress into passing a strict voter identification bill.

U.S. President Donald ​Trump threw doubt on Wednesday on the confirmation of his nominee to lead U.S. ‌intelligence, ​Jay Clayton, announcing that it should be delayed in an effort to force Congress to pass a strict voter identification bill.

However, Republicans who had been pushing for rapid Senate approval of Clayton, the top U.S. attorney for Manhattan, said his confirmation hearing would go ahead as scheduled on Wednesday unless Trump ordered him not to appear. "Jay Clayton is ‌a pending nominee before the Intelligence Committee," Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas, the Republican chairman of the committee said on X. "We will proceed with his hearing as scheduled unless the president directs him not to appear or withdraws his nomination."

Trump nominated Clayton less than a week ago as director of national intelligence (DNI) amid a political backlash over the loyalist he picked to fill the role temporarily. That close ally, Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte, has no national security experience, raising concerns even ‌among some Republicans that he could "weaponize" intelligence against Trump's perceived political foes.

Trump then nominated James McDonald to replace Clayton as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, one of the most powerful prosecutors in the ‌country. McDonald needs Senate approval for that role. Trump, in Evian, France, for a G7 summit, said in an overnight social media post that he did not want to remove Clayton from his post until McDonald was in place.

He said Pulte would remain as acting DNI in the meantime, adding that his fellow Republicans had agreed with Democrats to remove Pulte as acting spy chief in return for the approval of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Trump's action also put into doubt hopes for renewal of Section 702, seen as a crucial national security tool.

"However, the ⁠Republicans moved ​so fast with the hearings of the Great Jay Clayton ... that ⁠Pulte would be gone before the (Democrats) would vote on FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act)," he said, claiming that Democrats now say they would vote against FISA. "Not complicated, actually, the Republicans fell into a trap," he wrote.

Trump also reiterated that he would not approve the renewal of FISA Section 702 ⁠without passage of his Save America Act, which would require Americans to provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote. Trump has said Save America would deliver his Republicans a "guaranteed" win in November's midterm elections that will determine which party controls Congress. TIMING UNCLEAR

Presidents cannot unilaterally ​cancel Senate hearings, which are set so lawmakers can provide advice and consent on presidential nominees. Clayton did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump's choice of Clayton to oversee the nation's 18 intelligence agencies had ⁠been greeted with relief. While he lacks deep national security experience, he is broadly respected across party lines. "I favor a full vetting ... a thorough examination of all of the issues," Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, a senior Democratic member of the committee, told reporters on Tuesday.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune ⁠of ​South Dakota told a news conference on Tuesday that Clayton is "eminently qualified" and that his position as U.S. attorney meant that he deals with intelligence matters. APPOINTMENT TIED TO SURVEILLANCE LAW

FISA Section 702 allows law enforcement to collect foreign intelligence that can include information about Americans without judicial authorization. Democrats had said they would withhold the votes to renew Section 702 while Pulte was acting DNI.

"It needs to be fixed quickly, and I hope that the Democrats will work with us ⁠in order to make that happen," Thune said. Clayton's current role in Manhattan is one of the most coveted positions for prosecutors in the Justice Department. His office is overseeing the case against former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, ⁠who was seized in a lightning raid on January 3.

Democrats had ⁠hoped that Pulte, the federal housing regulator, would spend little or no time as interim intelligence director after Tulsi Gabbard's last day on June 19. Gabbard, a former Democrat with limited intelligence experience, had been accused by Democrats of advancing Trump's political agenda and promoting debunked election claims. She said she would resign to spend more time with her husband as ‌he undergoes cancer treatment.