Trump Ties Spy Powers Extension to Controversial Voter ID Bill

President Donald Trump said he is opposed to having Congress renew now-expired spy powers for US intelligence agencies unless lawmakers also pass a controversial voter identification bill.

Trump’s fresh demand adds another barrier to efforts to renew powers under the Foreign Surveillance Intelligence Act, which grants US intelligence agencies the ability to surveil foreign nationals’ communications. The powers expired Friday after Democrats refused to support an extension, citing Trump’s decision to name Bill Pulte, his housing chief and a staunch loyalist, as acting director of national intelligence.

The so-called Save America Act has been widely condemned by Democrats, who warn it will restrict voters’ rights.

“I’m against FISA if it doesn’t come with The Save America Act (Full version!) firmly attached to it,” Trump wrote in a social media post Sunday.

Trump has tried to pressure Congress into adding the Save America Act — which among other things would require voters to show more identification on election days — onto other must-pass bills, including the Department of Homeland Security funding measure that was passed last week. So far, however, he has been unable to win sufficient backing from Republicans to abolish the 60-vote threshold most legislation must cross to pass in the Senate.

Bill Pulte

Photographer: Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg

Before his Sunday post, Trump had repeatedly urged Congress to renew the FISA Section 702 authorities.

Read More: Trump Threatens to Stall Bills Until His Voting Measure Pass

Democrats have refused to support an extension as long as Pulte, who currently leads the Federal Housing Financing Agency, could potentially take over as national intelligence director, arguing that he cannot be trusted to be nonpartisan in the sensitive role given his previous actions to open mortgage fraud investigations into Trump’s critics.

“It doesn’t matter what else they do. Pulte’s gotta be gone,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer told reporters Thursday.

Trump nominated Jay Clayton, the current US attorney for the Southern District of New York, to be the permanent successor of Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, after Senate Majority Leader John Thune and other Republicans urged him to find a more qualified nominee. Pulte is slated to take over on June 19.

Read More: Thune Urges Trump to Tap Permanent Spy Chief After Pulte

Clayton is scheduled to testify before the Senate this week as part of his confirmation process. Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate’s intelligence committee, told CBS’s Face the Nation he hopes that Clayton would be confirmed by the end of the week.

Read More: Trump Taps Wall Street Top Cop Clayton as Intelligence Chief

Trump and other Republicans spent last week criticizing Democrats for opposing legislation on the extension of FISA Section 702, arguing that Pulte was only in the post on an interim basis. The president reiterated those critiques on Sunday, asking what Democrats “have to be afraid of.”

--With assistance from Erik Wasson.

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