WorldU.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday derailed the confirmation process of his own nominee to head the nation's intelligence agencies, an extraordinary move that upended Senate efforts to renew a crucial surveillance program that expired last week and fuelled fresh tensions with fellow Republicans on Capitol Hill.Move fuels fresh tensions with fellow Republicans on Capitol HillThe Associated Press · Posted: Jun 17, 2026 3:55 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hour agoListen to this articleEstimated 5 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.U.S. President Donald Trump gestures while boarding Air Force One in Geneva, Switzerland, on Wednesday. He announced in a social media post that he would be delaying the nomination of federal prosecutor Jay Clayton as director of national intelligence. (Martial Trezzini/Reuters)U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday derailed the confirmation process of his own nominee to head the country's intelligence agencies, an extraordinary move that upended Senate efforts to renew a crucial surveillance program and fuelled fresh tensions with fellow Republicans on Capitol Hill. In an overnight social media post from the Group of Seven summit in France, Trump declared he was delaying the nomination of federal prosecutor Jay Clayton as director of national intelligence just hours ahead of his scheduled hearing, despite bipartisan praise for the nominee and Republican efforts to speed him through the confirmation process this week. Senate Intelligence Committee chair Tom Cotton said Republicans would go ahead with the Clayton hearing anyway, "unless the president directs him not to appear or withdraws his nomination." But Cotton later postponed it, saying it was "regrettable" that Trump had directed Clayton not to appear. "Mr. Clayton is a patriot and a highly qualified nominee, as the president has said repeatedly," Cotton said. "While today's hearing is now unfortunately postponed, I look forward to proceeding with his confirmation in the near future." Criticism over Pulte's nominationTrump's attempt to delay Clayton makes it more likely that his temporary pick for the intelligence job, top housing official Bill Pulte, will take over when outgoing director Tulsi Gabbard leaves office on Friday to spend time with her husband as he fights cancer. Republicans and Democrats in Congress have sharply criticized Pulte, a Trump loyalist who has no known national security experience and has used his current administration perch to target perceived adversaries of the president. Trump's decision to make Bill Pulte his temporary pick for the intelligence chief job has faced criticism from Democrats and Republicans alike. (Mark Schiefelbein/The Associated Press)Trump has defended Pulte, calling him "fair" and "talented" in his social media post. Speaking to reporters in France, Trump called the speedy process to get Clayton formally installed a "rush act by the Democrats." "Why are they afraid of this guy? They're so afraid of him," Trump said, referring to Pulte. "They'll do anything not to have Pulte go in there."Caught in the middle is the renewal of Section 702 of the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, bipartisan legislation that aims to prevent terrorist attacks by monitoring the communications of targeted foreigners located outside the United States. Democrats had said they would not provide the votes needed to pass the bill unless Pulte's temporary appointment was withdrawn, and the current authority expired last week. Further complicating matters, Trump said in his social media post that he would not sign the FISA renewal without his legislation to require proof of citizenship for all voters — which does not have enough votes to pass the Senate — and that he does not want to remove Clayton from his current position as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York until his replacement, James McDonald, is approved. 'More clarity' needed: ThuneTrump's post sent Senate Republicans scrambling, and it was unclear whether they would challenge Trump's attempt to push back Clayton's nomination or try move it forward. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, seen speaking to reporters on Wednesday, said he was unclear why the U.S. president is holding up the nomination of Jay Clayton to be the country's next director of national intelligence. (J. Scott Applewhite/The Associated Press)"We'll just have to take it a day at a time until we get more clarity on what the White House position is on this," Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican, told reporters Wednesday morning. He said he didn't know why Trump was holding up the effort. "Good question," he said. Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, called Trump's post an "extraordinary display of dysfunction from a president who seems determined to turn America's national security into a political bargaining chip.""The biggest obstacle to resolving these issues has not been Senate Democrats or Senate Republicans," Warner said. "It has been the chaos and confusion coming from the White House itself."Series of standoffsIt was just the latest in a series of standoffs between Trump and Senate Republicans this year. A funding bill for Trump's immigration agencies was delayed several weeks when Republicans revolted over a $1.8-billion US "anti-weaponization" fund and a $1-billion US security request for the White House, including his new ballroom. The bill passed after acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the settlement would not move forward, and Republican leaders decided to drop the security money from the bill. Trump then appointed Pulte as interim intelligence director just as the FISA renewal was moving toward passage, upsetting bipartisan talks. Republicans urged the White House to pull the appointment, to no avail. Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina said that Trump's recent moves are "undermining the results he wants." "Jay Clayton was on the brink of having a very good hearing and probably getting some Democrat support, and now we're in a posture to where it may be the reason that [FISA Section] 702 doesn't get reauthorized," Tillis said. "That's a mistake." Tillis called Pulte a "sycophant" to Trump."How could anybody think he was going to be a credible choice?"