President Donald Trump’s decision to tap Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence will complicate action on renewing warrantless surveillance powers ahead of a looming deadline.
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., the top Senate Intelligence Committee Democrat, said Pulte’s appointment would “absolutely” make renewing FISA’s Section 702 more difficult. Democrats were already worried about how the Trump administration wields the powerful tools, and their low opinion of Pulte is making things worse.
“The very nature of our collection is now going to be put in the hands of somebody who has a history of seeking out private information for political gain,” said Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn.
Republicans will need at least some Democratic votes to pass a renewal of the spy powers, and they face divisions of their own over the House’s addition of a provision banning a central bank digital currency to the renewal measure.