Clayton confirmation hearing postponed as Trump tries to push Senate on voter ID bill

By — Eric Tucker, Associated Press Eric Tucker, Associated Press By — Mary Clare Jalonick, Associated Press Mary Clare Jalonick, Associated Press By — Aamer Madhani, Associated Press Aamer Madhani, Associated Press By — Darlene Superville, Associated Press Darlene Superville, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-live-senate-holds-confirmation-hearing-for-jay-clayton-despite-trump-pressure-to-delay Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Clayton confirmation hearing postponed as Trump tries to push Senate on voter ID bill Politics Updated on Jun 17, 2026 1:08 PM EDT — Published on Jun 17, 2026 11:05 AM EDT 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. A key Republican senator, Tom Cotton, had vowed to push forward with a hearing anyway, but Trump eventually directed Clayton to not appear for his confirmation proceedings, forcing Cotton, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, to announce that the hearing was postponed. READ MORE: Trump delays Clayton's nomination for intelligence director to try to push Congress on voter ID bill "It's regrettable that the president has directed Jay Clayton not to appear at his confirmation hearing today," Cotton, of Arkansas, said in a statement. "Mr. Clayton is a patriot and a highly qualified nominee, as the president has said repeatedly. While today's hearing is now unfortunately postponed, I look forward to proceeding with his confirmation in the near future." Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. The delay forced by Trump has injected even more uncertainty over the long-term leadership of the 18-agency intelligence community and dashed 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. The tumult began early Wednesday, when Trump, in a social media post just hours before Clayton's scheduled confirmation hearing, said that he would keep Pulte as acting DNI. Democratic and Republican lawmakers had opposed Trump's selection of Pulte, citing his lack of known experience in intelligence and his use of his current administration perch to target perceived adversaries of the president — resistance that last week forced Trump to turn to Clayton. READ MORE: What to know about Jay Clayton, Trump's nominee for director of national intelligence Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee, called Trump's post an "extraordinary display of dysfunction from a president who seems determined to turn America's national