Trump sticks with Pulte for intel job as risk grows of lapse in spy powers

Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency Bill Pulte speaks with reporters at the White House, Sept. 2, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)2026-06-10T19:19:08Z WASHINGTON (AP) — A lapse in a law that allows the U.S. to gather intelligence abroad grew more likely on Wednesday as President Donald Trump resisted calls from Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill to immediately name a permanent head of the nation’s intelligence agencies.Trump has doubled down on his temporary pick for director of national intelligence, federal housing finance regulator Bill Pulte, even though he has little experience for the job. Democrats say they won’t support the renewal of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, known as FISA, unless he withdraws Pulte’s appointment and nominates a permanent replacement.The impasse could soon result in limitations on what intelligence the U.S. government can collect abroad just as World Cup games begin in cities around the country and ahead of celebrations for the nation’s 250th anniversary. The law expires on Friday at midnight. Trump on Wednesday asked Congress for a short-term extension of the law to “provide time for the selection and confirmation” of a permanent director.” But he stuck with Pulte as the acting head and said he wants to begin downsizing intelligence agencies. “We can’t let them extort us,” Trump said of Democrats. Senate Republicans floated an short-term extension of the law after Trump’s request, but it was immediately rejected by Democrats who argued that it’s up to the president to replace Pulte. Read More As the bill stalled in the Senate, Speaker Mike Johnson announced the House would hold a vote Thursday on a stopgap to keep the program running through July 2 even as the chances of passage appeared slim. “We’re going to ask every member here to do the right thing,” Johnson said. “We cannot allow that to go dark.”House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said if Trump wants a shot at a short-term extension, he needs to pull the Pulte appointment. Pulte is a “disgraceful individual” and a “partisan political hack” who is deeply unqualified for the job, Jeffries said. GOP leaders lobby the White House, to no avail Congressional Republicans have lobbied Trump all week to quickly nominate a permanent replacement. But he said he needs more time to do so. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said Wednesday that Republican leaders have “made our views known” to the White House about the easiest way to get the bill passed, and “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.”Trump said on Friday that he is interviewing five candidates for his pick to lead the agency permanently and that all have a national security background.“It’s an important position and one that I think will be filled by a highly qualified person,” said Johnson, who met with Trump twice this week to talk about the FISA impasse.Trump made it very clear, Johnson said, that Pulte will serve a “very short term — a sort of renovation role” to help the Office of the Director of National Intelligence be “renovated and downsized.”To unlock votes for FISA, the pick would have to be soon — and Trump’s choice would have to satisfy both Republicans and Democrats. One of several possible replacements could be Pete Hoekstra, Trump’s ambassador to Canada and a former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. The White House has reached out to Hoekstra about the job and conversations are ongoing, according to a person familiar with the outreach who requested anonymity to discuss the private conversations. FISA will lapse at midnight FridaySection 702 of FISA allows agencies such as the CIA, National Security Agency and FBI to collect communications from foreign targets overseas without a warrant.While members of both parties who cite privacy issues have long wanted to limit the authority, there was broad bipartisan support to renew it, especially after Republicans and Democrats recently worked out a compromise bill. Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, has worked with Republicans on the compromise legislation to renew the authority. But he called Pulte’s appointment to replace outgoing DNI Tulsi Gabbard “a live hand grenade” as they were trying to pass it. Republican leaders tried to start the process last week, but seven Republicans joined nearly all Democrats in blocking a long-term extension after Pulte was appointed. ( Warner said Wednesday that the only way he’ll support a short-term extension of the surveillance law is if the principal deputy director of national intelligence, Aaron Lukas, is the acting leader during the duration of that extension.Sen. Tom Cotton, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, have warned the administration that the s

Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency Bill Pulte speaks with reporters at the White House, Sept. 2, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)2026-06-10T19:19:08Z WASHINGTON (AP) — A lapse in a law that allows the U.S. to gather intelligence abroad grew more likely on Wednesday as President Donald Trump resisted calls from Republicans and…

Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency Bill Pulte speaks with reporters at the White House, Sept. 2, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)2026-06-10T19:19:08Z WASHINGTON (AP) — A lapse in a law that allows the U.S. to gather intelligence abroad grew more likely on Wednesday as President Donald Trump resisted calls from Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill to immediately name a permanent head of the nation’s intelligence agencies.Trump has doubled down on his temporary pick for director of national intelligence, federal housing finance…