Key spy power on verge of lapsing after Trump appoints controversial intel chief

Politics Key spy power on verge of lapsing after Trump appoints Bill Pulte as intelligence chief By Caitlin Yilek, Caitlin Yilek Politics Reporter Caitlin Yilek is a politics reporter at CBSNews.com, based in Washington, D.C. She previously worked for the Washington Examiner and The Hill, and was a member of the 2022 Paul Miller Washington Reporting Fellowship with the National Press Foundation. Read Full Bio Caitlin Yilek, Kaia Hubbard Kaia Hubbard Politics Reporter Kaia Hubbard is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital, based in Washington, D.C. Read Full Bio Kaia Hubbard June 9, 2026 / 12:08 PM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google Washington — Democrats have accused President Trump of throwing a grenade into negotiations to renew a key spy authority — known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act — set to expire Friday. Members of Congress in both parties have been critical of Mr. Trump's decision to appoint housing regulator Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence. Pulte, who also leads the Federal Housing Finance Agency, lacks experience in national security and intelligence matters. As Democrats warned that they'd withhold their support for reauthorizing Section 702 as long as Pulte remains in the role overseeing the nation's intelligence agencies and some Republicans opposed an extension for various other reasons, House Speaker Mike Johnson was meeting with President Trump on Tuesday about the law's renewal. "One of the reasons that the speaker's not here right now is that he's over at the White House working with the president to finalize this agreement on FISA," Scalise, a Louisiana Republican, said Tuesday at House GOP leaders' weekly news conference.  A source familiar with the meeting said Johnson plans to discuss Pulte with Mr. Trump. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, told reporters Tuesday morning that he thinks the administration is "weighing s...