The "baffling" decision to delay swearing in President Donald Trump's new Director of National Intelligence is raising concerns among senators of both parties.
Democrats are concerned and Republicans stumped as to why newly approved DNI head Jay Clayton is being left on the sidelines while the controversial Bill Pulte remains in charge, The Hill reported Friday.
The Senate confirmed U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton on Tuesday as the new director of national intelligence, replacing Pulte in a role Trump said would be temporary. But Trump's White House has not followed standard protocol by immediately swearing in the newly confirmed official.
Instead, Clayton remains in limbo while Pulte continues functioning as DNI—a situation that has bewildered and frustrated senators across the aisle, the report noted.
Democrats expressed alarm at the unusual delay. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) called the situation "spectacularly bizarre," noting he has never encountered such a practice, before conceding, "That's the way it is with these guys."
Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, characterized the delay as "amazing" before clarifying: "in a horrible way." He called it "baffling."
Republicans, while not criticizing Pulte, expressed eagerness for Clayton to assume the position.
Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) remarked: "I'm ready for Jay to be sworn in. Nothing opposed to Bill on that, but we got a permanent guy. I like having a permanent guy in the position. Once it's confirmed, let's get him in the chair because there's some decisions that can only be made by the actual Senate-confirmed individual."
An anxious Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) told The Hill "Jay Clayton is the right guy for the job. The sooner we can get him in, the better off we are, and the sooner we can get back to getting the additional legislation completed that we need. FISA 702 needs to be put back in place as quickly as possible."
The White House has not responded to requests for comment about the delay or why Pulte remains in the role
