Himes says Pulte in intelligence role is Trump’s “worst and most dangerous” appointment
Rep. Jim Himes says Bill Pulte is Trump’s ‘worst and most dangerous’ appointment as intelligence chief 09:18
Washington — Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, harshly criticized President Trump Appointment of Bill PulteA controversial housing official will serve as acting director of national intelligence.
Mr. Trump’s choice of Pulte, who was director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, sparked a backlash from Democrats and some Republicans; They say it risks reauthorizing a major warrantless surveillance program (Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) that expires Friday.
“He doesn’t have a shred of experience in national security, and the president is thrusting him into these most sensitive roles.” Himes said in an interview Sunday on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.”.”
“Of all the terrible appointments he’s made, this is probably the worst and most dangerous,” Himes said. “He doesn’t like to back down, but he won’t like the terrorist attacks that may occur if there is no 702 collection authority.”
National security officials have long argued that the law is vital to thwarting terrorist plots, foreign espionage, international drug trafficking and cyberattacks.
Himes said the timing of the appointment was ahead of Friday’s deadline, which Congress had already compromised twice through short-term extensions, taking reauthorization “off the table.”
“You couldn’t find worse timing for the worst appointment I’ve ever seen to the intelligence community,” he said. “If we had to pass another bill in the context of Bill Pulte, I don’t think we could do that.”
Parliament in April passed three-year extensionwith 42 Democrats He voted in favor, but the bill stalled in the Senate due to the inclusion of an unrelated measure blocking the Federal Reserve from creating a central bank digital currency.
“I’ll tell you at least half the Democrats are gone,” Himes said of what Pulte’s appointment means for Democrats’ votes on reauthorization. “The only right answer — and I don’t have much confidence that this will happen — is for the president to say, ‘Oh, that was a mistake,’ and drop the Bill Pulte appointment in favor of someone who will give everyone more confidence, not just the Democrats.”
Senate last week blocked another extension Section 702 over concerns about warrantless surveillance of Americans.
Republican Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Chuck Grassley of Iowa asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a letter Saturday to “plan for a possible significant gap in foreign intelligence collection” if Section 702 expires after Friday.
The letter, obtained by CBS News, called on Rubio to “identify all intelligence targets to whom the United States could lose valuable intelligence information” and “identify alternative legal and constitutional intelligence collection methods through which the United States could continue to collect intelligence on those individuals.” It also called on the White House to draft an executive order “to fill the gap created by the transition” when “necessary.”
