Trump move disrupts Senate plan for DNI hearing

President Donald Trump’s surprise decision to halt the Senate confirmation hearing for his DNI nominee, Jay Clayton, threw a planned deal on surveillance law into disarray. According to the report, senators had been working on a fragile agreement to renew FISA Section 702, but the plan depended on moving Clayton’s confirmation quickly. Trump instead said he would not let the process advance until the Senate also approved Jamie McDonald for U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York. The post triggered confusion on Capitol Hill, with senators briefly unsure whether the hearing was canceled, postponed, or still going forward. Senator Tom Cotton later said the hearing would be postponed after Trump blocked Clayton from testifying, while Democrats argued the White House had derailed a path forward on national security legislation.