A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers on Capitol Hill is urging President Donald Trump to quickly nominate a permanent director of national intelligence to facilitate the renewal of a critical surveillance authority before it expires. However, Trump has resisted these calls, instead reaffirming his support for his temporary pick, Bill Pulte, the federal housing finance regulator, despite Pulte's lack of intelligence experience.
The impasse threatens the renewal of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which is set to lapse on June 12. This lapse could severely limit U.S.
intelligence collection abroad, coinciding with the start of World Cup games across the country and ahead of the nation's 250th anniversary celebrations.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) acknowledged on Wednesday that Republican leaders have communicated to the White House the most straightforward path to passing the bill. "We're just doing what we can here to ensure that the White House understands what will be necessary in order to make that happen," Thune said.
Trump, in a statement on Friday, said he is interviewing five candidates with national security backgrounds for the permanent role. House Speaker Mike Johnson, who met with Trump this week to discuss the FISA impasse, expressed confidence that the position will be filled by a highly qualified person.
However, to unlock Democratic votes for FISA, the nomination must come soon and satisfy both parties.
One potential candidate is Pete Hoekstra, Trump's ambassador to Canada and former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. The White House has reached out to Hoekstra about the job, according to a person familiar with the private conversations.
Section 702 of FISA permits agencies like the CIA, NSA, and FBI to collect foreign communications without a warrant. While there is broad bipartisan support for renewing the authority, Democrats are withholding their votes due to concerns over Pulte's appointment.
Virginia Democrat Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, called Pulte's appointment "a live hand grenade" that threatens the compromise legislation.
Republican leaders attempted to start the renewal process last week, but seven Republicans joined nearly all Democrats in blocking a long-term extension. Warner stated that he would only support a short-term extension if the principal deputy director of national intelligence, Aaron Lukas, serves as acting leader during that period.
Senators Tom Cotton and Chuck Grassley have warned the administration that the spy tool is likely to lapse, urging preparation for a potential gap in foreign intelligence collection.
Despite bipartisan pushback, Trump has not backed down on Pulte. On Tuesday, Trump announced that Pulte would take over as acting director earlier than expected, on June 19.
Trump posted on Wednesday that he needs more time to find a permanent replacement and requested a short-term extension, emphasizing the importance of FISA 702 for military and public safety during the World Cup and America250 celebrations. Critics, including both Republican and Democratic senators, point to Pulte's lack of intelligence experience and his controversial record at the Federal Housing Finance Agency, where he was linked to criminal referrals over allegations of mortgage fraud involving public officials Trump sought to punish.
Speaker Johnson described Pulte's role as a "very short term – a sort of renovation role" to help downsize the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. It remains unclear whether there are enough votes for a short-term extension, as Trump continues to ignore the bipartisan push to abandon Pulte's appointment.
Johnson called Trump's willingness to name a permanent pick a "good faith gesture" that Democrats should accept as part of an agreement for a short-term FISA extension.