WASHINGTON: US senators blocked legislation renewing a major foreign surveillance authority on Friday after President Donald Trump’s choice of a loyalist housing official as acting intelligence chief upended a bipartisan deal.
The protest was led by Democrats objecting that Bill Pulte had no relevant experience and had weaponised government records against Trump’s opponents — raising the prospect that one of Washington’s most important national security tools could lapse within days.
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) allows US intelligence agencies to collect communications of foreign targets overseas, including when they communicate with people in the United States.
Officials describe it as a vital counterterrorism and espionage tool, but civil liberties groups and privacy-minded lawmakers argue it allows warrantless access to Americans’ communications.
The authority is due to expire on June 12 unless Congress acts, although the programme has a legal safety net that could allow some operations to continue under existing court certifications.
Senate intelligence committee leaders had been close to a bipartisan deal after months of negotiations to extend the section concerned of the surveillance law for three years.
But Democrats said Pulte’s appointment made it impossible to back expanded surveillance powers without assurances over how intelligence would be used.
Mark Warner, the panel’s top Democrat, said the underlying bill had been sound but that Pulte was “grossly unqualified” for the role.
“Giving him the keys to the 18 intelligence agencies that the Director of National Intelligence oversees would be a disaster,” Warner said on the Senate floor ahead of the FISA renewal vote.
“Mr Pulte has no national security expertise — none. We’re not even sure if he’s got a basic security clearance… This role is too important to be filled by a part-time, unqualified individual.”
Democrats have also accused Pulte, the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s director, of weaponising his office in support of Trump’s campaign of retribution against political opponents.
Pulte has used mortgage records to support investigations of Trump adversaries, including Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, New York attorney general Letitia James and Democratic Senator Adam Schiff.
Republican leaders accused Democrats of endangering national security by blocking the bill. But several of the party’s rank-and-file lawmakers also opposed moving forward, arguing that the surveillance act needs major changes to prevent warrantless searches involving Americans.
Trump’s appeal
President Trump said on Friday he wants his incoming acting spy chief to start firing employees, deepening the controversy over the appointment of a man with no previous intelligence experience.
“If he cut, I wouldn’t mind that,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, adding that the number of employees in Pulte’s office had been “way too high for way too long”. Trump had earlier said in an
interview that he wanted Pulte — who will oversee the 18 sprawling US intelligence agencies — to slash employee numbers.
Published in Dawn, June 6th, 2026