Graham asks Trump to move forward with Clayton’s DNI nomination

Senate Graham asks Trump to move forward with Clayton’s DNI nomination Comments: by Ryan Mancini - 06/21/26 2:21 PM ET Comments: Link copied by Ryan Mancini - 06/21/26 2:21 PM ET Comments: Link copied

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Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Sunday said he asked President Trump to proceed with U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton as his pick to lead the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) after he said he would delay his nomination.

Graham told CBS News’s “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan that the nomination process should have carried on as planned and that Clayton “should be the new DNI.” Trump halted the process after Democrats said they would not reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), a key spy authority that expired earlier this month, in protest against Bill Pulte holding the ODNI lead role in an acting capacity.

“Mark Warner told me that there are enough votes to get FISA reauthorized, and I would urge President Trump to let Clayton testify,” Graham said, referring to Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee. “And if we nominate Clayton and get him affirmed as the new DNI, we don’t want FISA to go dark. There’s too many threats to our country for 702 to go down.”

The president nominated Clayton to appease concerns from lawmakers that Pulte was not qualified to lead DNI as acting intelligence director. Trump claimed Republican lawmakers “fell into a trap” set by Democrats, who “broke the Deal” to remove Pulte by not renewing Section 702. Several Republicans also protested Pulte leading DNI, similarly saying he was not qualified.

When Brennan asked if Trump would proceed with the nomination process based on what Graham said, the senator said he will let the president “speak for himself.”

“We need FISA up and running,” Graham continued. “So, here’s what I hope will happen: that Clayton will appear before the committee, we’ll get him confirmed, and we’ll get FISA reauthorized, as the original plan was. I think the Democratic votes are there. We’re playing with fire here, no matter what side does it.”

Graham later added that he was “fine right now” with Pulte leading DNI, “but I won’t be fine much longer if we don’t get FISA up and running, and I think Clayton’s the perfect pick.”

Trump also halted the nomination process to urge GOP lawmakers to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, a new voter ID legislation that the president has made his top legislative priority.

Though it passed in the House in February, it has stalled in the Senate with no Democratic approval, as they suggest that it would infringe on voting rights and disenfranchise young people, women and people of color from casting ballots. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), among many others, has compared the SAVE America Act to Jim Crow laws.

Many Senate Republicans back the voting bill, but Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) expressed doubts about its chances of passing in the upper chamber. He has said he will attempt to renew FISA 702 without the SAVE America Act without combining it with the SAVE America Act.

Add as preferred source on Google Tags Bill Pulte Chuck Schumer Donald Trump Jay Clayton John Thune Lindsey Graham Margaret Brennan Mark Warner

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