WASHINGTON (June 17, 2026) — Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) Director of National Security Policy Danielle Steitz released the following statement regarding President Trump’s decision to delay Jay Clayton’s nomination as Director of National Intelligence and to add new conditions to FISA Section 702 extension efforts:
“Two weeks ago, during the middle of bipartisan negotiations on an extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), President Trump announced his intent to appoint Bill Pulte as the acting director of national intelligence. Pulte is a private equity executive with no intelligence, military, or national security experience of any kind – indeed, he’s never even held a security clearance — whose sole qualification appears to be his willingness to abuse his authority to retaliate against Trump’s critics and political adversaries. At present, Pulte remains under investigation by the Government Accountability Office for grossly abusing his authority as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency to initiate fraud probes against such Trump targets as Lisa Cook, Adam Schiff, and Letitia James.
“In naming Pulte as acting DNI and remarking on his hopes that Pulte would use the position to look into ‘rigged elections’ — a clear reference to his loss in the 2020 presidential campaign — Trump made it clear that he prioritized personal grievances over national security, and effectively blew up any chance of preventing Section 702 from lapsing. FISA Section 702 hit its statutory sunset date on June 13, and it remains lapsed as of today — setting the stage for what may be the longest lapse in the history of Section 702.
“This morning’s Truth Social rant from President Trump provides yet another example of his dangerous lack of care for national security. In it, he railed against the Senate’s desire to fast-track confirmation of Jay Clayton, his own nominee, to serve as director of national intelligence. He continued on to decree that he had ‘canceled’ a hearing called by a coequal branch of government, and then absurdly stated that ‘to add a slight bit of intrigue,’ he would not approve a FISA Section 702 extension without passage of the SAVE Act.
“This ‘intrigue’ is nothing more than pure political gamesmanship with national security at stake. Intelligence collection under FISA Section 702 is reliant upon cooperation with US electronic communications service providers like Verizon or Google. Section 702 allows the government to compel providers to share data on targets for specific reasons in exchange for liability immunity; letting Section 702 lapse means that the mechanism to compel that cooperation and the liability immunity both disappear, potentially fracturing cooperation with private businesses who could choose to challenge government directives and deny access to vital information.
“This type of legal uncertainty around the status of a critical authority was absolutely avoidable had Donald Trump not dismantled months of bipartisan negotiations with his irresponsible and indefensible demands. Instead, right as high-profile events like the FIFA World Cup and celebrations around America’s 250th birthday are taking place in the United States, the Intelligence Community is facing tremendous uncertainty around the use of an incredibly valuable tool to counter potential terrorist threats against the U.S. and the American public.
“When the Intelligence Community is not certain that it will have access to the data it needs to keep Americans safe, that should be of paramount concern to any leader. Instead, President Trump has chosen to jeopardize the safety of these events in order to push Congress to pass an entirely unrelated piece of legislation that the president has repeatedly failed to pass on its own merits.
“This behavior is unacceptable and would be unthinkable from any other U.S. president, but is sadly not surprising at all from Trump. Instead, today’s temper tantrum is yet another example of him putting his own priorities above the safety and security of the American people.”
Founded in 1989, PPI is a catalyst for policy innovation and political reform based in Washington, D.C. Its mission is to create radically pragmatic ideas for moving America beyond ideological and partisan deadlock. Find an expert and learn more about PPI by visiting progressivepolicy.org. Follow us at @PPI.
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Media Contact: Ian O’Keefe – iokeefe@ppionline.org
