Trump keeps Pulte at DNI, tangles FISA renewal and Clayton bid
Why it matters: The standoff threatens renewal of FISA Section 702 and gives Pulte access to highly classified intelligence as acting DNI.
President Donald Trump moved to keep Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence, blocking Senate plans to quickly consider Jay Clayton for the post and deepening a fight over surveillance powers. Trump tied Clayton's path to Senate confirmation of James McDonald as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and demanded that any extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act include a voter ID and proof-of-citizenship bill. Democrats have vowed to oppose a Section 702 extension while Pulte remains Trump's pick, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Republicans had hoped a fast Clayton confirmation could ease that impasse.