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Trump delays Clayton's nomination for intelligence director, but committee chairman promises hearing
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he was delaying federal prosecutor Jay Clayton’s nomination to lead the U.S. intelligence community in a bid to force Congress to act on a voter ID bill that currently lacks enough support for passage, but a key Republican senator vowed to push forward with a hearing anyway.
The dueling statements from Trump and Tom Cotton, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, create uncertainty over the long-term leadership of the 18-agency intelligence community and dash hopes for a swift renewal of a crucial surveillance program that expired in Congress last week due to bipartisan anger over Trump’s pick of Bill Pulte, a top U.S. housing official, as acting director of national intelligence.