Thune Presses Democrats to Cooperate on Jay Clayton Confirmation, Restore Lapsed FISA Program

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) called on Democrats Monday to end what he described as systematic obstruction of President Trump’s nominees and urged bipartisan action to restore the lapsed Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Section 702 program, warning that the current situation is without historical precedent.

Clayton Confirmation in the Balance

Thune made his remarks during a press conference with Senate Republican leadership, where he highlighted the nomination of Jay Clayton to serve as director of national intelligence. Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton had scheduled Clayton’s confirmation hearing for the following day, with Thune indicating Clayton could be reported out of committee by the end of the week — provided Democrats agree to cooperate.

The majority leader made clear that Democratic participation is not optional in terms of timeline. Confirming Clayton within the week requires a level of Democratic cooperation that has been largely absent throughout the Trump administration’s personnel agenda.

“I’m hopeful the Democrats will cooperate and enable us to get him into this position and get him confirmed there quickly.”

Thune framed the obstruction of executive nominees as an escalating pattern, noting that President Trump has the distinction of being the first president in American history without a single civilian nominee confirmed by voice vote or unanimous consent. Every confirmation, however uncontroversial, has required a full Senate floor process.

“That is truly, truly unprecedented.”

FISA 702 Authorization Has Lapsed

Beyond the confirmation fight, Thune pointed to a more immediate national security concern: the Section 702 surveillance program under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act has lapsed. The program, which authorizes the collection of foreign intelligence on non-U.S. persons located outside the country, is considered one of the most significant tools available to American intelligence agencies for monitoring foreign threats.

According to Thune, Senate and House members had reached a bipartisan agreement to reauthorize the program — only to have Senate Democrats block-vote against the deal. The result is a gap in legal authority that Thune described as itself without precedent.

The lapse leaves intelligence and law enforcement agencies operating without a statutory framework that has been central to counterterrorism and foreign adversary monitoring efforts. Senate Republicans have argued that the delay is entirely the product of political obstruction rather than any substantive objection to the bipartisan terms that had already been negotiated.

A Pattern Republicans Say Is Deliberate

Senate Republican leadership has increasingly characterized Democratic procedural tactics not as legitimate oversight but as a coordinated effort to deny the Trump administration functioning leadership across the executive branch. The confirmation blockade, combined with the collapse of the FISA reauthorization effort, offers Republicans a two-part argument heading into the summer recess period: Democrats are impeding both personnel and national security priorities simultaneously.

The Clayton nomination carries particular weight given the role of the director of national intelligence in coordinating the intelligence community and briefing the president. With the FISA 702 program lapsed and no confirmed DNI in place, Republicans argue the United States faces an avoidable vulnerability of Democratic manufacture.

Thune’s remarks signal that Republican leadership intends to keep pressure on Democrats publicly rather than allow the obstruction to fade into procedural background noise. Whether Democrats move to facilitate Clayton’s confirmation or allow the impasse to continue will be a defining test of whether any bipartisan cooperation on national security matters remains possible in the current Senate.