Trump pauses spy chief confirmation in Congress

President Donald Trump called off a Capitol Hill appearance by his nominee to be America's top spy chief, citing frustration with surveillance legislation stalled in Congress.

Jay Clayton was scheduled to appear before the Senate intelligence committee on Wednesday - his first step toward taking over as director of national intelligence (DNI).

On Truth Social early on Wednesday, Trump said Clayton would not be there because lawmakers had allowed the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to lapse.

Republican Tom Cotton, who chairs the committee that was supposed to host the hearing, said later on Wednesday that the proceeding was "unfortunately postponed".

"It's regrettable that the president has directed Jay Clayton not to appear at his confirmation hearing today," Cotton, of Arkansas, wrote on social media. "Mr. Clayton is a patriot and a highly qualified nominee, as the president has said repeatedly."

He said he looks forward to moving forward "with his confirmation in the near future". Cotton did not say when another hearing to consider Clayton's nomination would be scheduled.

Meanwhile, the Democrat vice-chair of the committee, Mark Warner, said in a statement about Trump's post announcing the delay that: "National security cannot be governed by social media post".

"What we're witnessing is an extraordinary display of dysfunction from a president who seems determined to turn America's national security into a political bargaining chip," he said.

In the early morning post, Trump said that he would not "approve" the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) unless the SAVE America Act is included.

The SAVE act would require people to provide ID and proof of citizenship to vote. Democrats have widely condemned it, arguing that if it becomes law it will restrict the rights of voters.

The current iteration of FISA, which governs how intelligence agencies can gather information from US telecoms companies, lacks sufficient support to pass. Adding the SAVE Act could make passage more difficult.

He then tied his proposed combined legislation to his recent nomination of Clayton, currently the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), to become DNI. Lawmakers from both parties want to swiftly confirm Clayton in order to speed the departure of the current acting DNI, Bill Pulte.

In the post, Trump said that until Clayton's successor at the SDNY is approved and until Clayton goes through the Senate confirmation process, loyalist Pulte would continue in the DNI role on an interim basis.

The president faced bipartisan pushback when he first tapped Pulte, who has no national security background, for the acting DNI job.

When Trump announced last week he had selected Clayton as Pulte's permanent replacement, Senators sought to move ahead quickly with his confirmation process.

The US director of national intelligence is country's top spy chief and oversees 18 government intelligence agencies. They serve as the principal adviser to the president, the National Security Council, and the Homeland Security Council on national security matters related to intelligence.

The next DNI chief will replace outgoing director Tulsi Gabbard, who announced last month that she will leave the role 30 June.