June 17 (UPI) — President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he would not approve any renewal by Congress of the expired Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act unless it agreed to his demand to link it with a voter ID bill amid a spat over Trump’s pick for the new national intelligence director.

Trump wrote in a social media post that he was pulling the Senate confirmation hearing for Jay Clayton, scheduled to be held later Wednesday, and would keep acting director William Pulte in post until his personal lawyer, Jamie McDonald, is confirmed as Clayton’s replacement as the U.S attorney in Manhattan.

“For the Good of the Nation, and the People of our Country, I will not approve FISA without THE SAVE AMERICA ACT going along with it. Not complicated, actually, the Republicans fell into a trap,” wrote Trump.

“Regarding the approval of our Great Patriot, Jay Clayton, we are canceling the Senate Hearing RE: DNI today, and will not be going forward until Jamie McDonald is approved to be U.S. Attorney. In the meantime, Bill Pulte will remain as the Acting Director of National Intelligence,” he added.

Pulte, who Trump appointed on June 2, is currently set to take over for Tulsi Gabbard on Friday, performing the role alongside his duties as Federal Housing Finance Agency director and chairman of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Casting doubt on whether he would succeed in getting McDonald through due to what he called Republicans’ “ridiculous” attachment to so-called “blue slipping” veto powers for senators of the home state of nominees, Trump said he didn’t want to take Clayton away from the “great job” he was doing in New York until McDonald was in place.

Trump said that Republicans had trapped themselves through siding with Democrats to remove Pulte in exchange for their support on FISA, but then scheduling Clayton’s hearing so early that Pulte would be gone before the Democrats would be called on to fulfil their side of the deal.

The move came days after the Senate and House voted against re-extending the so-called warrantless surveillance section 702 of FISA through July 2 in protest against Trump’s appointment of Pulte to temporarily head up national intelligence — allowing FISA to expire at midnight on June 12.

Democrats oppose the choice of Pulte due to his lack of intelligence experience and probes he has launched into Trump’s political rivals, some of which involved mortgage fraud allegations. Some Republicans have also expressed reservations over his lack of an intelligence background.

The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, requiring people to show ID and proof of citizenship to vote, has been stalled in the Senate after passing in the House in February.

Experts say the proposal is unworkable and would see voter suppression on a wide scale, while Democrats oppose it because they believe it is an effort by Trump to disenfranchise voters through wresting the running of elections from the states and banning mail-in ballots ahead of the mid-terms in November.

Some Republicans also oppose SAVE in principle due to its implications for the long-term prospects for democracy in America.

On Monday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said the Senate would try to pass the 702 enhanced surveillance powers of FISA without the SAVE America) Act attached, despite Trump’s demands the laws be treated as a package and threatening to veto FISA.

Thune said he would bring it to the floor “as soon as we feel like we have the votes to do it.”