Trump delays Clayton’s nomination for intelligence director to push Congress on voter ID bill
President Donald Trump has said that he was delaying federal prosecutor Jay Clayton’s nomination to lead the US intelligence community in a bid to force Congress to act on a voter ID bill that currently lacks enough support for passage.
The Republican president said in a social media post just hours before Clayton’s scheduled confirmation hearing that he will keep Bill Pulte, a top US housing official, as acting director of national intelligence.
Democratic and Republican lawmakers had opposed Trump’s selection of Pulte, citing his lack of known experience in intelligence and his use of his current role to target perceived adversaries of the president – resistance that last week forced Trump to turn to Clayton.
He wrote:
The Republicans agreed with Dumocrats to remove very fair, and talented, William Pulte, from serving as Acting DNI in return for getting FISA approved by the Dumocrats. However, the Republicans moved so fast with the hearings of the Great Jay Clayton, current U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, that Pulte would be gone before the Dumocrats would vote on FISA. Now, the Dumocrats are saying they will vote against FISA — So, the Republicans wound up having fulfilled their commitment, but Dumocrats broke the Deal.
In addition, the newly nominated U.S. Attorney, Jamie McDonald, must be confirmed and blue slipped. Because of the ridiculous views of Republicans on blue slipping (Dumocrats are often willing to nix it), I may not be able to get the extraordinary Sullivan & Cromwell Partner, Jamie, approved, and I don’t want to take Jay Clayton away from the great job he is doing until Jamie is in place. Therefore, to add a slight bit of intrigue but, 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.
Trump added:
Not complicated, actually, the Republicans fell into a trap. Regarding the approval of our Great Patriot, Jay Clayton, we are cancelling 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.
Key events
Donald Trump was almost an hour late to the first working session of the day at the G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains.
As he walked to his seat he stopped at the head of the table and joked, “I’m the boss.” He then also joked with press that they could stay for the (closed press) meeting, “It’s okay with me.”
Trump also complained about the room being “too hot” and asked if there would be air conditioning, to which French president Emmanuel Macron replied, “Yeah, we will have.”
A senior White House official told NBC News that the US president was late because he was “on some very important calls with people back in the States”. That would have been between 3.30 and 4.30am ET.
Iran memorandum of understanding is ‘not final’, says Trump
Donald Trump warned Iran he was ready to resume military action if Tehran did not abide by its obligations, two days ahead of the signing of an accord to end the war between the foes.
“No it’s not final. It’s a memorandum of understanding,” Trump told reporters at the G7 summit, referring to the agreement expected to be signed in Switzerland on Friday.
“If I don’t like it we will go back to shooting at them,” he added alongside Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
If they don’t behave, we’ll go right back to dropping bombs right smack in the middle of their head.
Trump added: “It’s a very strong deal. Nobody knows what it is, but it’s very strong, and most people seem to be very happy.”
Trump delays Clayton’s nomination for intelligence director to push Congress on voter ID bill
President Donald Trump has said that he was delaying federal prosecutor Jay Clayton’s nomination to lead the US intelligence community in a bid to force Congress to act on a voter ID bill that currently lacks enough support for passage.
The Republican president said in a social media post just hours before Clayton’s scheduled confirmation hearing that he will keep Bill Pulte, a top US housing official, as acting director of national intelligence.
Democratic and Republican lawmakers had opposed Trump’s selection of Pulte, citing his lack of known experience in intelligence and his use of his current role to target perceived adversaries of the president – resistance that last week forced Trump to turn to Clayton.
He wrote:
The Republicans agreed with Dumocrats to remove very fair, and talented, William Pulte, from serving as Acting DNI in return for getting FISA approved by the Dumocrats. However, the Republicans moved so fast with the hearings of the Great Jay Clayton, current U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, that Pulte would be gone before the Dumocrats would vote on FISA. Now, the Dumocrats are saying they will vote against FISA — So, the Republicans wound up having fulfilled their commitment, but Dumocrats broke the Deal.
In addition, the newly nominated U.S. Attorney, Jamie McDonald, must be confirmed and blue slipped. Because of the ridiculous views of Republicans on blue slipping (Dumocrats are often willing to nix it), I may not be able to get the extraordinary Sullivan & Cromwell Partner, Jamie, approved, and I don’t want to take Jay Clayton away from the great job he is doing until Jamie is in place. Therefore, to add a slight bit of intrigue but, 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.
Trump added:
Not complicated, actually, the Republicans fell into a trap. Regarding the approval of our Great Patriot, Jay Clayton, we are cancelling 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.
January 6 defendants pursue millions in claims through obscure federal process
Sam Levine
January 6 defendants who assaulted police officers are pursuing legal claims for millions in compensation from the Trump administration using an obscure federal process with minimal oversight, but which offers the Trump administration a way to compensate those responsible for violence even after scrapping its “anti-weaponization fund”.
The defendants are pursuing their claims using the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), which allows individuals wronged by the government to file claims for monetary damages. The justice department has complete and unchecked discretion over whether to settle the claims, giving the Trump administration a powerful vehicle to reward those responsible for violence on January 6.
The claims would be paid out from the judgment fund, a perpetual appropriation allowed for by Congress and the same pot of money Trump’s $1.8bn slush fund was going to draw from. All of the defendants seeking compensation received a pardon from Trump.
There was fierce bipartisan pushback to the “anti-weaponization fund” proposed by the administration last month after Trump reached a settlement with the Internal Revenue Service. In particular, members of Congress were concerned that people who harmed law enforcement officers on January 6 might receive compensation. “If you’ve been convicted of assault on a cop … doesn’t seem to me like people who are victims,” Josh Hawley, a Republican senator from Missouri, told NBC News.
While the “anti-weaponization fund” appears to be on ice for now, FTCA claims and lawsuits could provide another avenue for payouts.
“It risks turning the judgment fund into exactly the sort of slush fund that the ‘anti-weaponization’ was going to be,” said Rupa Bhattacharyya, a former director in the civil division’s tort branch at the justice department, who worked on FTCA claims and now is the legal director at the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown Law.
“If the treasury department is not going to enforce the restrictions on the use of the judgment fund, which is to settle impending or imminent lawsuits where there’s some risk of liability, then there’s no limit on what you can use that judgment fund money for, so long as someone files a bogus claim,” she said.
The justice department agreed to settle FTCA claims filed by Michael Flynn, a former national security adviser, and Carter Page, Trump’s foreign policy adviser, for $1.25m each earlier this year.
Republicans are pushing for swift Senate confirmation of president Donald Trump’s nominee to lead US intelligence, Jay Clayton, but Democrats said they would wait until his nomination hearing on Wednesday before deciding how to proceed.
Trump nominated Clayton, the top US attorney for Manhattan, to be Director of National Intelligence (DNI) less than a week ago, amid a political firestorm over the loyalist he had picked to fill the role temporarily, Reuters reported.
That close ally, Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte, has no national security experience. Even some Republicans expressed concerns that he could “weaponize” top-secret intelligence to target Trump’s perceived political foes.
Trump’s decision to pick Clayton to oversee the nation’s 18 intelligence agencies was greeted with relief. Clayton lacks extensive national security experience but is broadly respected by Democrats and Republicans.
Democrats said on Tuesday that they intended to question Clayton closely, but held off on passing judgment before his Senate Intelligence Committee hearing.
“I favor a full vetting… a thorough examination of all of the issues,” Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, a senior Democratic member of the panel, told reporters.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Democrats would decide how to proceed only after the hearing.
Senate majority leader John Thune of South Dakota and other Republicans want Democrats to agree to waive Senate rules to allow a vote on Clayton as soon as this week.
Thune told a news conference on Tuesday that Clayton is “eminently qualified” and that his position as US attorney meant that he deals with intelligence matters.
Most Americans believe civil liberties like the right to vote are under threat, according to a new AP-NORC poll, while also continuing to agree that the rights expressed in the nation’s founding documents are still core to American identity.
The survey from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that most Americans across demographics believe the right to vote, the right to free speech and freedom of religion are integral to the country.
But they were more divided on the importance of the right to bear arms, and few – about one-third or less – saw those rights as safe from threats.
The survey, which was conducted 16-20 April – before the Supreme Court’s recent ruling that winnowed a section of the Voting Rights Act – highlights an enduring consensus among Americans that personal freedoms are vital to the country’s national identity.
But it also reveals deep anxieties about the nation’s trajectory on the cusp of a summer filled with celebrations of the country’s semi-quincentennial birthday.
Trump-backed candidate wins primary to face Jon Ossoff in Georgia midterms
Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog.
Donald Trump’s pick to face rising Democratic star Jon Ossoff in Georgia’s midterm election for senator later this year swept to victory last night.
The state’s Republican primary runoff voters chose US representative Mike Collins over former college football coach Derek Dooley to face Ossoff in November.
They also selected billionaire healthcare executive Rick Jackson over Trump-backed lieutenant governor Burt Jones to face Democratic gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms in November, after a bruising election campaign that led to libel litigation and federal challenges to Georgia election law.
Ossoff, who has represented Georgia in the US Senate since 2021, has made waves this year by delivering a series of caustic takes on Donald Trump’s administration. He will now face Collins in the race to retain the competitive seat.
Collins, a trucking executive and one-time “freedom caucus” conservative endorsed by Trump, has served in the US House of Representatives since 2023. His father, Mac Collins, served in the House from 1993 to 2002.
An anti-abortion hardliner with a history of incendiary social media commentary, Collins has vigorously denied the legitimacy of the 2020 election and defended January 6 rioters.
Dooley is the son of legendary University of Georgia football coach Vince Dooley. After earning a law degree from UGA, he began working his way through the college coaching ranks, eventually taking the University of Tennessee to three consecutive losing seasons before being fired.
Dooley is close friends with outgoing governor Brian Kemp, who had backed Dooley with his endorsement, political staff and fundraising appeals.
Jackson will represent the GOP in the Georgia gubernatorial contest.
Read the full story:
In other developments:
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Donald Trump laid into Benjamin Netanyahu, telling a news conference at the G7 summit in France that the Israeli prime minister “has to be more responsible with respect to Lebanon”.
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The Republican-led US Senate on Tuesday narrowly failed to advance a war powers resolution introduced by Democrats that would have directed the president to end hostilities with Iran, by a vote of 48-47.
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The justice department announced charges against five men for an alleged plot to carry out an attack to kill government officials at the White House UFC event on Sunday.
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Kash Patel, the FBI director, reportedly surprised and angered US Secret Service officials by announcing an alleged plot to attack the White House UFC event on social media early Tuesday before about 10 suspects had been arrested.
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