Senate fumes as Clayton chaos unwinds path to renew FISA

President Trump’s scuttling of a hearing to review his pick for director of national intelligence has once again plunged Congress into chaos over who will lead the intelligence community and how lawmakers can renew the nation’s lapsed spy powers.

The Senate spent the morning ping-ponging over whether members would even hear from nominee Jay Clayton, who serves as a U.S. attorney. Trump said the hearing was canceled, but Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), an ally of the president, initially rebuffed him, saying the hearing would still go on. Cotton later backtracked and announced the “regrettable” decision that the president had directed his nominee to not show.

Democrats and Republicans alike complained about the lack of certainty on all fronts.

In addition to delaying Clayton’s confirmation, which Democrats say is a prerequisite for reauthorizing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), Trump said just before 4 a.m. EDT that he wouldn’t approve the spy powers unless his voting bill, the SAVE America Act, was attached.

In a sign of the confusion that ensued, Sen. Mark Warner (Va.), the top Democrat on the Intelligence panel, said he wasn’t even sure if Clayton was still the nominee. 

“I am not sure whether Jay Clayton has simply been postponed or withdrawn. I wonder whether Jay Clayton knows whether he has been postponed or withdrawn,” he told reporters, complaining about the “level of chaos [and] incompetence” from the Trump administration. 

Negotiations over Section 702 of FISA were already delicate even before Trump inflamed the issue by announcing Bill Pulte, the head of a housing agency who has made criminal referrals for numerous Trump foes on allegations of mortgage fraud, would serve as acting director of national intelligence. 

It was a move that sparked outrage from both Republicans and Democrats, with the left refusing to pass FISA’s Section 702 if Pulte was in office.

Now, the nation’s foremost national security tool, which allows the government to spy on foreigners overseas, has expired, while the Senate is back to square one on confirming a top intelligence chief.

Trump announced Clayton’s nomination last week only after a FISA reauthorization bid failed in both the House and Senate.

“I was enthusiastic,” Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.), a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said about Clayton.

“I visited with Jay. I think he is highly qualified. I commend the president on the nomination, and I regret that his confirmation is going to be delayed, apparently. But it is what it is. This is the........

© The Hill