Clayton will appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday for a confirmation hearing to be Director of National Intelligence. Above, Clayton testifies before the Senate Banking Committee during his confirmation hearing to be chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 23, 2017.Chip Somodevilla/Getty Imageshide caption

The Republican chairman of the Senate intelligence committee says lawmakers will move ahead with a confirmation hearing Wednesday for Jay Clayton to serve as director of national intelligence.

That’s despite an overnight post from President Trump, who said he is delaying the nomination and blocking the renewal of a surveillance tool at the center of the U.S. intelligence apparatus in order to pressure the Senate to advance a long-stalled voting bill and also advance another of his nominees for a separate position.

“Jay Clayton is a pending nominee before the Intelligence Committee. We will proceed with his hearing as scheduled unless the president directs him not to appear or withdraws his nomination,” said Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., in a post on social media.

Trump’s attempt to derail the confirmation came as a surprise social media post in the middle of the night less than 12 hours before Clayton was scheduled to appear before his confirmation hearing. Trump, who is currently at the G7 Summit in France, issued his demands in a post just before 4 a.m. eastern on Truth Social.

In the post, Trump said the plan to quickly approve Clayton was part of a deal with Democrats to derail his previous, temporary pick, Bill Pulte, who has no intelligence experience and has been criticized as a political attack dog for the president.

He went on to say he is demanding that reauthorization of the surveillance tool known as FISA Section 702 must be tied to passage of the SAVE America ACT, a GOP voting bill that would require voters to show a document proving their U.S. citizenship, like a passport or a birth certificate, when they register to vote. The legislationfailed in the Senateearlier this month.

“Regarding the approval of our Great Patriot, Jay Clayton, we are cancelling the Senate Hearing RE: DNI today, and will not be going forward until Jamie McDonald is approved to be U.S. Attorney. In the meantime, Bill Pulte will remain as the Acting Director of National Intelligence. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Trump concluded.

Source: NPR News