(AFP) – US President Donald Trump opened a new front Wednesday in a growing power struggle with Senate Republicans, leveraging concerns about a key national security post to assert authority over lawmakers from his own party. A growing number of Republican senators have voiced disagreement with the 80-year-old president on some issues in recent weeks — including over the continuation of the Iran war — despite Trump’s near-total grip on Congress since the start of his second term.
The latest example is the nomination of Bill Pulte, a Trump loyalist with no national security experience, as the interim director of national intelligence (DNI). Even some of the usually loyal pro-Trump Republican senators questioned this. When Trump announced last week that he was appointing prosecutor Jay Clayton to permanently fill the role, Republican senators rushed to schedule his confirmation hearing before Pulte could take over in an acting capacity. But Trump declared Wednesday that Clayton’s confirmation hearing would not take place until his replacement as New York prosecutor is confirmed. That in turn casts doubt over the fate of a key intelligence gathering program known at FISA Section 702, which allows warrantless surveillance of foreigners overseas. The controversial program expired for the first time last week after Congress rejected a short-term extension, largely over Pulte’s appointment.
Trump has now bundled all the issues into one giant fight by saying he will not go ahead with any of it until lawmakers approve his restrictive voting reform package, the “SAVE America Act,” which is opposed by all Democrats and some Republicans. It is a move apparently designed to regain control in the face of growing independence among senators from his Republican party. “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 wrote on his Truth Social platform, referring to Clayton’s planned replacement. “In the meantime, Bill Pulte will remain as the Acting Director of National Intelligence,” he added.
The top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee said the planned Wednesday hearing would go ahead anyway, before ultimately announcing that it was “unfortunately postponed.” “It’s regrettable that the president has directed Jay Clayton not to appear at his confirmation hearing today,” Senator Tom Cotton said on X, adding: “I look forward to proceeding with his confirmation in the near future.” In the absence of a vote on Clayton, Pulte is set to take office on Friday. Critics fear that Trump would rely on Pulte to carry out acts of political revenge or interfere with upcoming elections. The president has already ordered him to cut jobs in the US intelligence community. In his previous job, Pulte targeted a series of Trump’s foes with allegations of mortgage fraud.
By announcing the cancelation of Clayton’s hearing, Trump sought to pull the rug out from under Senate Republican leaders, who had organized it in record time. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, condemned the move by Trump, accusing him of being “determined to turn America’s national security into a political bargaining chip.” “National security cannot be governed by social media post,” Warner said, slamming the “chaos and confusion coming from the White House itself.” Clayton, who led the Securities and Exchange Commission during Trump’s first term, has support from both Democrats and Republicans, unlike Pulte. Since the spring of 2025, Clayton has held one of the most powerful prosecutorial positions in the country: US attorney for the Southern District of New York. Trump wants to replace him with McDonald — a lawyer who handled one of his legal cases — and who must also be confirmed by the US Senate.
– Robin LEGRAND
© 2024 AFP
