Jerusalem Post/World NewsTrump wrote in a post on Truth Social that Clayton would not be there because lawmakers had allowed the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to lapse.Follow us on GoogleThe US Capitol building is illuminated the night the Senate passed a short-term government funding bill, more than a month into the longest US government shutdown, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., November 10, 2025.(photo credit: REUTERS/ELIZABETH FRANTZ)ByJERUSALEM POST STAFFJUNE 18, 2026 04:21US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he is delaying the nomination of Jay Clayton as the new US Director of National Intelligence (DNI), according to The Wall Street Journal.Trump made the announcement, which delayed the Senate's plans to quickly confirm a new intelligence chief, hours before Clayton's confirmation hearing was set to take place, the WSJ reported.According to the WSJ, Trump said he was postponing the nomination until Clayton's successor for his current position, as US attorney for the Southern District of New York, was approved.Trump added that he wouldn't sign legislation to renew a critical spying law until Congress passed voter-eligibility legislation that he has long made a priority.The voting bill doesn't have the 60 votes required to advance in the Senate, the report noted.Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard testifies before a US House Intelligence Committee hearing on worldwide threats, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, US, March 19, 2026. (credit: Reuters/Kylie Cooper)Trump's decision to nominate Clayton earlier this month was seen as a step away from his much-disputed decision to nominate his housing chief, Bill Pulte, as the new Acting Director of National Intelligence, following Tulsi Gabbard's resignation from the role.Many Senators objected to Trump's decision to nominate Pulte, citing his lack of experience in national security matters, and said they wouldn't vote to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), a critical spying law, if Pulte were DNI.Significance of FISA Section 702FISA Section 702 is a law that allows US intelligence agencies to conduct warrantless surveillance of non-Americans located outside the US to gather foreign intelligence.Since Trump's nomination of Clayton earlier this month, Senators have been rushing to confirm Clayton before Pulte's scheduled start date on Friday.Following Trump's decision to delay Clayton's nomination, Senator Tom Cotton, Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in a post on X/Twitter, "Jay Clayton is a pending nominee before the Intelligence Committee. We will proceed with his hearing as scheduled unless the president directs him not to appear or withdraws his nomination."He later said the hearing had been postponed, calling it “regrettable” that Trump directed Clayton not to appear.Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social that Clayton would not be there because lawmakers had allowed the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to lapse.Follow us on Google