Top Dem Threatens to Block FISA Bill if Trump Doesn’t Pull DNI Pick

(Mark Schiefelbein/Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP photos)

A top Democrat is urging Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) to ensure Bill Pulte doesn’t become the acting Director of National Intelligence, threatening to pull the party’s support of a FISA bill if he fails to do so, according to a new report.

Shortly after President Donald Trump announced he was picking Pulte to lead ODNI, Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), the vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, implored Thune to do what he could to reverse the president’s decision, Punchbowl News reported on Wednesday.

Warner informed Thune that “all options are on the table to reverse what Democrats see as a dangerous Trump pick to lead ODNI,” the outlet reported.

Among those options is for Democrats to yank their support of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) bill, Section 702, which is due to expire on June 14.

The Punchbowl report drops amid fury from both sides of the aisle after Trump announced he was selecting Pulte to replace Tulsi Gabbard, who will leave office at the end of this month.

The pick ignited uproar almost immediately, given Pulte’s lack of military or intelligence experience, and his efforts to dig up mortgage fraud allegations against Trump’s perceived enemies, like New York Attorney General Letitia James and Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook.

On Tuesday, Thune himself said, “If they nominate him to take the position permanently, he’ll have to go through a confirmation process and hearings and everything else, so we’ll see.”

When asked more specifically about Pulte potentially weaponizing his position, Thune said, “We don’t need a weaponized DNI; we need professionals there.”

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