Washington — Democratic Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado said Sunday that he fears “Americans are at risk” with Bill Pulte leading the Trump administration’s intelligence apparatus.
“I’m just more worried day-to-day that Americans are at risk because we have someone who’s incompetent at the head of this agency,” Crow said during an appearance on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.”
President Trump’s decision to name Pulte as acting director of national intelligence, a role he took on Friday, has triggered sharp criticism on Capitol Hill. After Tulsi Gabbard announced in May that she would step down from the job, Mr. Trump said he would install Pulte, a housing finance official, as acting DNI. The choice quickly drew scrutiny from Democrats and some Republicans, who questioned whether Pulte had the national security background needed for the post.
The controversy helped drive Democrats earlier this month to oppose an extension of a warrantless foreign surveillance authority. Senate Republican leaders then sought to break the deadlock by moving swiftly to confirm Mr. Trump’s permanent nominee for DNI, Jay Clayton, last week. But the president unexpectedly called for the confirmation hearing to be canceled.
Beyond Pulte’s limited national security résumé, Democrats have also criticized him over his involvement in inquiries targeting Mr. Trump’s political opponents. Crow, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said he is “obviously concerned that this is somebody who’s a political attack dog, and his single biggest qualification is that he’s loyal to Donald Trump and is willing to go after Donald Trump’s enemies.” Still, Crow said his most urgent concern is the safety of the American public.
“This is a really important position. This sits atop our intelligence agencies, and by law, Congress mandated that this person have significant intelligence experience because they have to make sure that we’re keeping Americans safe, which is not what Bill Pulte is capable of doing,” Crow said.
Since Pulte was tapped for the job, Democrats have refused to support extending Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the surveillance authority that allows intelligence agencies broad latitude to monitor foreign targets overseas. The provision expired earlier this month. Negotiations over renewing FISA Section 702 had already been contentious, with lawmakers in both parties calling for stronger limits and warning that the program can collect Americans’ communications without a warrant. Intelligence officials maintain that the authority is a critical national security tool.
When asked whether Democrats had misread the situation, Crow responded, “not at all.”
“I know how important it is, but I’m unwilling to trade Americans’ constitutional rights, privacy and essential civil liberties for temporary extension to this program,” Crow said. “That’s what this administration is asking us to do. They say, ‘give up your constitutional rights, give up Americans’ rights and privacy, and we’ll just make sure we keep you protected.'”
Crow added, “what about this administration would give us confidence that they’re going to follow the law?”
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GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who also appeared on “Face the Nation” on Sunday, said he thinks Senate Republicans’ plan to confirm Clayton as director of national intelligence, which was poised to end the impasse with Democrats on Section 702, “should happen.”
“I think Clayton should be the new DNI,” he said.
Graham, who said he spent more than four hours with the president on Friday, outlined that Mr. Trump “was told that Democrats were not going to support FISA reauthorization, and he got mad and pulled out of the agreement.”
“They will, Mark Warner told me that there are enough votes to get FISA reauthorized, and I would urge President Trump to let Clayton testify,” Graham said, referring to the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee.
The South Carolina Republicans said he told the president “that any Democrat that shuts down FISA at a time of great peril for the United States is making a huge mistake — the same would be true of the Trump administration.”
“We’re playing with fire here, no matter what side does it,” Graham said. “America needs FISA up and running.”
