President Donald Trump asked Congress on June 10 to pass a short-term extension of a federal surveillance program set to expire this week, as Senate Democrats had blocked a longer renewal over his choice of Bill Pulte to serve as acting director of national intelligence.
“I am asking Congress to send me a short-term extension of FISA to provide time for the selection and confirmation of a permanent Head of the Agency,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Wednesday morning.
Trump said Pulte, who directs the Federal Housing Finance Agency, would take over as acting director on June 19 to oversee a downsizing of the office, and that he was seeking a permanent nominee “with experience in National Security.”…