Two and a half days before a deadline to extend one of the government’s most controversial surveillance authorities, Democrats and some Republicans are digging in over President Donald Trump’s decision to install Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence.
The question over the next 65 hours is whether either side is willing to blink.
Pulte’s appointment has thrown a wrench into negotiations over Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which expires Friday. His selection — which can remain in place for up to 210 days without Senate action, and much longer if Republicans play along with some complex nomination games — drew swift criticism from lawmakers in both parties.
“Make a list of the million most qualified Americans for this job,” Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., told MS NOW on Tuesday. “The guy is not on the list.”
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told reporters Pulte “has no obvious qualifications.”
Senate leaders will need to garner 60 votes to pass a FISA extension. And talks have dragged on so long, they’ll need unanimous consent to agree to hold a vote before Friday’s deadline. Last Friday, seven Republicans opposed a procedural motion on the bill, joining nearly all Democrats to block an extension of FISA’s surveillance authority.
Section 702 is a cornerstone of the intelligence community’s surveillance operations. According to the U.S. Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, information gathered through the program contributed to 63% of the articles included in the president’s daily brief. But it has long been controversial because Americans’ communications can be swept up incidentally when they interact with foreign targets.
Pulte, who currently serves as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, has no intelligence background. And during his tenure at the housing agency, he’s accused several Trump critics of mortgage fraud, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook and Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.
That partisan record has only intensified concerns among Democrats about placing Pulte in charge of the nation’s intelligence apparatus.
“If people have questions about how 702 is being deployed and about the privacy of American people who may be incidentally collected under 702, appointing someone whose only relative experience is as a lapdog of the president, someone who goes after president’s enemies, someone who would abuse the private data of Americans certainly didn’t help,” Schiff told reporters Monday.
Still, Pulte isn’t the only obstacle standing in the way of a FISA deal. Negotiations were already contentious before Trump announced his appointment.
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who has pushed for changes to the law to require warrants to gather Americans’ communications said in a Friday statement that Pulte’s selection “is a symptom of the larger problem” with warrantless surveillance.
For many lawmakers, the solution is simple: Trump could withdraw Pulte’s appointment. But the president signaled Tuesday that he has no intention of doing so, announcing on Truth Social that Pulte will assume the role on June 19.
Even so, lawmakers and administration officials may be exploring some potential compromises.
One possibility under discussion would have the White House nominate someone else to serve as the Senate-confirmed director of national intelligence while allowing Pulte to remain in the acting role.
When asked Tuesday whether the White House was considering another nominee, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said he thought the administration was doing just that.
“I think they’re weighing seriously making a long-term pick,” Thune said.
But so far, there doesn’t appear to be any resolution.
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Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said he discussed Pulte’s appointment with Trump during a Tuesday morning meeting, but he deferred questions about any potential compromise to the White House.
“We talked about all that, and I’m gonna let the president speak to the issue,” Johnson said.
A different pick for the full-time director of national intelligence could draw enough support from Democrats to end the blockade against a FISA extension, even if Pulte remains in place as the temporary, acting director.
“If the president were to announce somebody very credible as DNI, it would make it much easier to get to where we need to get on FISA,” Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., told MS NOW on Tuesday.
But Kaine isn’t exactly speaking for all Democrats. Some were clear they wouldn’t agree to a FISA extension as long as Pulte is in place as the acting director.
Sen. Kelly suggested Pulte is the problem — and that he couldn’t support a FISA extension even if Pulte were just in an acting director role.
As Kelly put it, he couldn’t support Pulte “as anything.”
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, said he wouldn’t engage in hypotheticals about finding a middle ground with the White House. But when asked if Pulte could temporarily stay on as acting director, Warner said the votes for a FISA extension probably wouldn’t materialize.
“I don’t know how— I don’t see a path forward, regardless of what I do, on how you convince the necessary Democrats, because listen, there’s plenty of Republicans who don’t want this renewed,” Warner told MS NOW.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., also said Pulte’s lack of qualifications fundamentally undermines his ability to do the job, even temporarily.
“To take Mr. Pulte, who runs the housing programs, and put him in charge makes no sense whatsoever, temporary or permanent,” Durbin said on the Senate floor Tuesday.
Syedah Asghar contributed to this report.
Jack Fitzpatrick
Jack Fitzpatrick covers Congress for MS NOW. He previously reported for Bloomberg Government, Morning Consult and National Journal. He has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Arizona State University.