Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters Thursday he will try to get President Donald Trump’s pick for director of national intelligence confirmed “as quickly as possible.”
“I don’t know what realistic is, but we’re gonna probe the limits of it,” the South Dakota Republican said.
Trump on Thursday afternoon said he’d be nominating Jay Clayton, currently leading the office of the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, to the role.
Within hours, the Senate Intelligence Committee had set a hearing for Wednesday and business meeting for Thursday.
Trump has picked Bill Pulte to take over as the temporary director the next day, June 19, a move that solidified Democratic opposition to even a short-term reauthorization of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
