WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump blocked the Senate confirmation hearing for his nominee, Walter "Jay" Clayton III, for director of national intelligence on Wednesday in Washington, D.C. The President demanded the passage of a voter ID bill and the approval of another nominee as conditions for the hearing to proceed.

Walter "Jay" Clayton III was scheduled to appear for his confirmation hearing at 2 p.m. in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, but the hearing did not take place. A committee aide informed spectators approximately 15 minutes before the scheduled start time that the hearing was canceled.

The President stated on Wednesday morning that Clayton would not proceed with the hearing until Jamie McDonald is approved as U.S. Attorney. The Senate Intelligence Committee has not yet received the necessary paperwork to process McDonald's nomination for the U.S. attorney slot for the Southern District of New York. Majority Leader John Thune told reporters he had not spoken to the President in a few days.

Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act lapsed on Friday night. Senate Republicans had scheduled Clayton's hearing in an effort to restart FISA negotiations with Democrats. President Trump declared he would not approve a FISA reauthorization unless a separate voter ID bill, the SAVE America Act, was attached. This act would require voters to provide proof of citizenship when registering and photo identification at the polls. Senate Republicans previously attempted to pass SAVE-related amendments during the vote-a-rama.

Senator Ron Wyden told reporters, "I have never seen anything quite like this." Senator Thom Tillis described communication with the White House as "Less than optimal." He stated, "I mean, Jay Clayton was on the brink of having a very good hearing and probably even getting some Democrat support." Tillis added, "And now we're in a posture to where it may be the reason why 702 doesn't get reauthorized." He called the situation "That's a mistake." Senator John Cornyn said, "There's some frustration because now 702 is going to stay dark, and that's a danger for the country." Cornyn noted, "We have a lot of people here from around the world, and we've got regimes like the Iranian regime mad at us … and we basically blinded our intelligence community, because 60 percent of the president's daily brief comes from 702." Cornyn also commented on the President tying multiple issues together, stating, "So, by tying all these together, and then also saying, 'Well, you got to pass the SAVE America Act,' which we know we don't have the votes for — we got to find a solution."

Majority Leader John Thune said, "I think [Clayton] would be confirmed quickly, but I can only do what I can do here." He added, "The president — this is his nominee, and so obviously he made a decision not to move forward at the moment." Thune concluded, "We'll take it a day at a time." Donald Trump nominated Bill Pulte to temporarily head the intelligence agency.