Trump postpones Clayton’s nomination for the position of Director of Intelligence

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he had decided to postpone the nomination of federal prosecutor Jay Clayton to lead the US intelligence community in an attempt to force Congress to act on the voter ID bill, which currently lacks sufficient support to pass, but a prominent member of the Senate said that he would go ahead with holding a hearing.

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, said he intends to proceed with the confirmation hearing on Wednesday unless Trump orders Clayton not to attend or withdraw the nomination.

The Republican president said in a social media post just hours before the hearing that he would retain Bill Bolte, a senior US Housing Administration official, as acting director of national intelligence. Democratic and Republican lawmakers had opposed Trump’s choice of Bolte, pointing to his lack of known experience in the field of intelligence and his exploitation of his position in the current administration to target the president’s opponents, a resistance that forced Trump last week to turn to Clayton.

The surprise announcement raises immediate uncertainty about the long-term leadership of the 18-agency intelligence community, and dashes hopes for a quick renewal of the crucial surveillance program that expired in Congress last week due to bipartisan anger over Trump’s choice of Bolte.