Trump blocked his own nominee. The Senate wanted to confirm Clayton as DNI quickly. Trump said no. The hearing got canceled.
This is the equivalent of ordering a sandwich, watching someone make the sandwich, then slapping it out of their hands because they didn't ask if you wanted it toasted. Except the sandwich controls spy satellites and the guy who slapped it also ordered it.
Bill Pulte remains acting DNI. Pulte was not supposed to be acting DNI this long. Nobody was. Acting means temporary. Temporary means you're the human equivalent of a Post-it note reminding everyone to hire someone real. But here we are. Pulte's still acting. The Senate's still waiting. Clayton's presumably at home wondering what the f*ck just happened to his job interview.
The reauthorization of a key intelligence authority hangs in the balance. That authority expires if nobody's confirmed. It expires because acting directors can't reauthorize things that require a real director's signature. So the logic chain goes like this: Trump picks Clayton, Senate tries to confirm Clayton fast, Trump sabotages Clayton, Pulte stays acting, intelligence authority dies because Pulte can't sign it, America's spy apparatus loses a tool, and somewhere in a basement a retail trader who bought Palantir at $78 thinks this is bullish for defense stocks.
The committee scuttled the hearing. Scuttled is a word people use when they mean canceled but want to sound like they're on a boat. They are not on a boat. They're in Washington doing the bureaucratic equivalent of a three-stooges routine with classified briefing materials.
Trump nominated Clayton then killed Clayton's confirmation because the Senate moved too efficiently, which is like firing your pilot mid-flight for landing early.
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