Acting chief Pulte completes fourth round of ODNI layoffs
The U.S. Senate voted 51-43 Monday night to advance the nomination of Jay Clayton for Director of National Intelligence, clearing the path for a final confirmation vote as early as Tuesday evening. No Democrats voted to advance the nomination.
President Donald Trump first nominated Clayton, a former U.S. attorney, in June. The nomination has been caught up in a dispute with Congress over acting DNI Director Bill Pulte, who continues to run the agency while also leading the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Pulte announced over the weekend that he had completed the fourth round of layoffs at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI).
Democrats in the House have refused to renew Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act in retaliation for Pulte being installed as acting intelligence chief. The House is not scheduled to return to session until September. It is unclear whether the Senate will take up a FISA extension after Clayton’s confirmation.
At Clayton’s July 15 confirmation hearing, Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., pressed him on whether Trump’s 2020 election loss was legitimate. Clayton said Biden was “certified” as president but would not say that Biden won the election. Clayton said he is not an election denier.
“You refuse to answer a basic question about who won a presidential election, but you ask to lead America’s intelligence community,” Ossoff said at the hearing. “Isn’t it humiliating to be unable to answer this question, to have to indulge the president’s delusions?”
Pulte, who also runs the FHFA, has referred four of Trump’s perceived enemies for prosecution on allegations of mortgage fraud. Tulsi Gabbard resigned from the ODNI in May.