Trump suddenly halts confirmation hearing for DNI pick Jay Clayton
Jay Clayton, US attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), during the Bloomberg Global Credit Forum in New York, US, on Wednesday, June 3, 2026. (Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump said that Wednesday’s confirmation hearing for Jay Clayton to be the next Director of National Intelligence has been canceled and will not continue until his pick to replace Clayton as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jamie McDonald, is confirmed.
“Regarding the approval of our Great Patriot, Jay Clayton, we are cancelling the Senate Hearing RE: DNI today, and will not be going forward until Jamie McDonald is approved to be U.S. Attorney,” Trump posted on social media. “In the meantime, Bill Pulte will remain as the Acting Director of National Intelligence.”
Trump also repeated that he wanted both his SAVE America Act bill and an extension to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which lapsed over the weekend after an extension vote failed in the House last week, to pass together after more than a dozen Republicans voted against a short-term extension.
Former Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard resigned from her post last month, saying that she was stepping down after her husband of 11 years, Abraham Williams, was diagnosed with “an extremely rare form of bone cancer,” according to a resignation letter she posted to social media.
Her departure marked another Cabinet-level shakeup during Trump’s second term after departures by former Attorney General Pam Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem earlier this year.
Gabbard’s tenure was marked by two major conflicts abroad, politically charged election-related investigations at home and the unresolved tension between the anti-war message that first defined her rise in politics and the national security office she later came to hold.
Trump selected Bill Pulte as the acting director of national intelligence, but Democrats in both chambers signaled objections to him, saying that he does not have any national intelligence experience.
Pulte is best known in the Trump administration for launching probes into several of the president’s perceived political enemies over allegations of mortgage fraud and possible misuse of authority. Targets of the investigations include Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, New York Attorney General Letitia James, Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff and former Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell. They’ve all denied wrongdoing.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said last week that reversing Pulte’s temporary appointment would only be a “starting point” to convince Democrats to pass FISA, but making another change at DNI wouldn’t be enough on its own to sway Democrats.
“It’s a step in the right direction, because it reverses something that is clearly out of bounds, unacceptable, and cannot be allowed to occur,” Jeffries said.
ecretary of the Smithsonian Institution Lonnie Bunch speaks during an event at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History on February 20, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch disputed the scathing July 4 report released by the White House, which accused the National Museum of American History and its leaders of presenting a “radical view” of American history.
In an internal letter to staff that was obtained by ABC News, he wrote that Smithsonian leadership is “carefully” reviewing the report’s findings. Bunch has not addressed the report publicly.
“While there will always be room for improvement, this report is not a fair characterization of the work and totality of the National Museum of American History,” Bunch said in the letter. “At the Smithsonian, our work is driven by scholarship, accuracy, and an uncompromising commitment to tell the fullness of America’s story.”
“As public servants and the keepers of this institution, we are charged with helping a nation find understanding, hope, and clarity and as part of that duty, we are dedicated to excellence, reflection, and growth,” Bunch added.
In the letter, Bunch thanked staff members for their “dedication” to their work and their “belief” in the institution’s mission.
“Every day, we are honored to tell America’s stories and hold that responsibility with the utmost regard, respect, and fidelity. We remain committed to fulfilling our mission for generations to come,” he said.
The report was published by the White House Domestic Policy Council. Vince Haley, the group’s director, said in a statement to ABC News that “No American wants the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History to be a system of ideological activism.”
“Unfortunately, the report demonstrates that is exactly what the Smithsonian’s flagship museum has become,” he said. “During this 250th anniversary year of our heroic founding, the least we owe our Founding Fathers is an honest and inspiring account of who they were, what they did, and what they built. It is our hope and expectation that the Smithsonian will eventually rise once again to that noble obligation — to tell America’s story for our children, the world, and future generations of Americans.”
Bunch’s letter comes days after the Domestic Policy Council released the scathing 162-page report accusing the Smithsonian Institution of engaging in “extreme political activism” and presenting “a radical view of American history.”
The report particularly took aim at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History (NMAH), accusing its leadership of adopting “an ideological framework that no longer treats the American story as a shared national inheritance to be taught or celebrated, but as a political instrument to divide, dispirit, and discourage our citizens.”
The report accuses the museum of “anti-White activism,” “illegal alien activism,” and “transgender activism.” It also includes many photos of materials the White House identified as problematic.
Asked about the report, a spokesperson for the Smithsonian, which oversees 21 museums, galleries and the national zoo, told ABC News in a statement on Sunday that the institution remains committed to impartial learning.
“For more than 180 years, the Smithsonian has served the American public with nonpartisan and independent scholarship, and we remain committed to doing so,” the spokesperson said.
The report comes amid an ongoing White House review of the Smithsonian as well as a separate internal review launched by the Smithsonian into its own exhibits and processes.
The White House review was launched in response to President Donald Trump’s March 27, 2025 executive order, “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.”
The executive order directed Vice President J.D. Vance, in consultation with the president’s advisers on domestic policy, “to remove improper ideology” from Smithsonian institutions, arguing that materials that cast America in a “negative light” have no place in federal cultural institutions.
“The serious concerns raised in this report are not about a few exhibits or a few controversial labels,” the report says. “As it stands today, it would benefit most Americans, especially parents bringing their children for a tour, if the Smithsonian’s flagship history museum had a label at every entrance that reads: ‘Warning: the exhibits in this museum were prepared by people who don’t want you to love your country.'”
Sarah Weicksel, executive director of the American Historical Association (AHA), previously told ABC News that the White House is seeking to create “a narrowly sanitized version of the American past” at federal cultural institutions “that fits comfortably” into Trump’s executive order.
The AHA, which represents 10,000 historians across various educational and cultural institutions in the U.S., including the Smithsonian, has publicly defended the Smithsonian and urged the White House to “respect and value the expertise of the historians, curators, and other museum professionals who conduct the review and revision of historical content according to the professional standards of our discipline.”
“History is under attack right now, and we are seeing our expertise devalued in the public sphere,” Weicksel told ABC News Live in an interview on Monday. “It is really upsetting to see the executive branch intervening in our work.”
ABC News’ John Santucci and Sabina Ghebremedhin contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — The Senate on Monday formally received President Donald Trump’s nomination of Todd Blanche to serve as attorney general, teeing off what could be a potentially contentious confirmation battle.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Rep. David Scott, D-Ga., attends the House Financial Services Committee hearing on “Make Community Banking Great Again” in the Ryaburn House Office Building on Wednesday, February 5, 2025. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Veteran Democratic Rep. David Scott of Georgia has died. He was 80 years old.
Scott, who served as the top Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee from 2021 to 2025, served in the House for more than 23 years, taking office in 2003.
He was in the Capitol on Tuesday when he cast his final vote as a member.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
