Himes says Pulte in intelligence role is Trump's "worst and most dangerous" appointment

Washington — Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, the apical Democrat connected the House Intelligence Committee, lambasted President Trump's appointment of Bill Pulte, a arguable lodging official, to service arsenic acting manager of nationalist intelligence. 

Mr. Trump's prime of Pulte, who had been the manager of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, has drawn backlash from Democrats and immoderate Republicans, who accidental it risks the reauthorization of a cardinal warrantless surveillance programme — Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act — that expires Friday. 

"He doesn't person an iota of nationalist information acquisition and the president is putting him successful this astir delicate of roles," Himes said successful an interrogation Sunday with "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan." 

"In the handbasket of atrocious appointments helium has made, this is astir apt the worst and astir dangerous," Himes said. "He doesn't similar to backmost down, but he's besides not going to similar the violent attacks that mightiness hap if determination is nary 702 postulation authority." 

National information officials person agelong argued that the instrumentality is captious for disrupting violent plots, overseas espionage, planetary cause trafficking and cyber intrusions. 

Himes noted the timing of the assignment up of Friday's deadline — which Congress has already punted doubly done short-term extensions — saying it has taken reauthorization "off the table." 

"You conscionable could not person travel up with worse timing for what is astir apt the worst assignment into the quality assemblage that I've ever seen," helium said. "If we had to walk different measure successful the discourse of Bill Pulte, I don't deliberation we could." 

In April, the House passed a three-year extension, with 42 Democrats voting successful favor, but the measure stalled successful the Senate implicit the inclusion of an unrelated measurement that prevented the Federal Reserve from creating a cardinal slope integer currency. 

"I volition archer you that astatine slightest fractional of those Democrats are gone," Himes said of what Pulte's assignment means for Democratic votes successful favour of reauthorization. "The lone close reply — and I don't person a batch of assurance that it's going to hap — is that the president says, 'Oops, that was a mistake,' and pulls the Bill Pulte assignment successful favour of idiosyncratic who volition springiness not conscionable Democrats, but everybody much confidence." 

Last week, the Senate blocked different extension of Section 702 implicit concerns astir warrantless surveillance of Americans. 

Republican Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Chuck Grassley of Iowa asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio successful a missive connected Saturday to "plan for a imaginable important spread successful overseas quality collection" if Section 702 lapses aft Friday. 

The letter, obtained by CBS News, called connected Rubio to "identify each quality targets connected which the United States whitethorn suffer invaluable quality information, "and "determine alternate lawful and law intelligence-collection methods by which the United States could proceed collecting quality connected these individuals." It besides called connected the White House, "if necessary," to draught an enforcement bid "to remedy the spread near by the lapse." 

Jennifer Jacobs contributed to this report.