‘Regrettable’: Republican senator breaks with Trump after president delays Jay Clayton’s nomination for intelligence director – live

We’re going to quickly pivot from Trump’s press conference to share that Jay Clayton’s nomination hearing has officially been canceled for Wednesday, according to the Senate intelligence committee chair, Tom Cotton. Trump directed Clayton to not appear at the hearing scheduled for this afternoon, according to Cotton. The Republican senator, a staunch ally of the president, called the order “regrettable” in rare public criticism of Trump. In a post on X , he wrote: double quotation mark It’s regrettable that the president has directed Jay Clayton not to appear at his confirmation hearing today. 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.