President Trump calls to delay nomination of intel pick Jay Clayton

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 Images hide caption

President Trump says he is delaying the nomination of Jay Clayton to be the next director of national intelligence and disrupting approval of a surveillance tool at the center of the U.S. intelligence apparatus in order to pressure the Senate to advance another nominee and approve a long-stalled voting bill.

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 is scheduled to appear before a Senate committee. Trump issued his demands in a post just before 4 a.m. eastern on Truth Social. Trump is currently at the G7 Summit in France.

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 an unrelated package of voting restrictions that has previously failed to advance in the Senate.

"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.

It is a dramatic reversal for a nomination that had the potential to speed through the Senate, possibly with bipartisan support.

Clayton currently serves as a federal prosecutor, in charge of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. In that role, he's overseen a number of high-profile cases including the indictment and arrest of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. He was previously confirmed by the Senate to serve as the head of the Securities and Exchange commission during President Trump's first term.

The director of national intelligence leads the intelligence community across 18 agencies and organizations and advises the president on national security issues, including through drafting and delivering the President's Daily Brief.