Congress
Trump asks Congress for ‘short-term’ spy law extension
President Donald Trump asked Congress on Wednesday to pass a “short-term” extension of a key surveillance law set to expire Friday as Democrats continue to balk at his appointment of political ally Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence.
Trump stopped short of taking a step GOP congressional leaders believe could allow for the bipartisan passage of an extension — naming a nominee to succeed Pulte on a permanent basis. But he suggested a nomination would eventually come.
“I am asking Congress to send me a short-term extension of FISA to provide time for the selection and confirmation of a permanent Head of the Agency,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
Speaker Mike Johnson, Majority Leader Steve Scalise and other top House GOP leaders traveled to the White House on Wednesday morning to discuss a possible nomination with Trump on the sidelines of a bill-signing event, according to three people granted anonymity to describe their unannounced plans.
It’s not clear if Trump’s request will be enough to push through an extension of any length before Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act expires Friday. Many Democrats insist Pulte must vacate the top intelligence post before they approve any reauthorization.
Passing an extension in the Senate will require more than a dozen Democrats given the chamber’s filibuster threshold and some GOP opposition to the Section 702 program. Democratic votes are needed in the House, as well.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Wednesday that Republicans in his chamber will “do what’s necessary to keep the program, keep the lights on.”
“I think we’ll find out probably in short order what the discussions between the White House and Senate Democrats are able to accomplish, and then we’ll figure it out from there,” he added.
Tech mogul Bill Gates told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee he had no knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes, despite their years-long relationship after Epstein’s 2008 sex crime conviction.
The prominent philanthropist and founder of Microsoft, who is sitting for a transcribed interview Wednesday as part of the panel’s ongoing Epstein investigation, also maintained that he was “never interested” in having a personal friendship with Epstein and that he did not reciprocate advances to that end, according to a copy of his opening statement published on his website.
“I never witnessed nor had any indication that Epstein was engaged in ongoing criminal conduct,” Gates told lawmakers, according to the prepared remarks. “I never went to his island, his ranch, or his Florida home. I have never victimized anyone.”
While Gates has not been accused of any wrongdoing, he is featured prominently in photos released by Epstein’s state and emails made public by the Justice Department — and he is one of several powerful men who have come under scrutiny for his sustained ties with the late, convicted sex offender.
Gates said he was introduced to Epstein in 2011, when the financier “claimed he could raise billions of dollars for global health from people for whom he provided tax and estate services.”
Although he knew Epstein had legal troubles, Gates said conceded he accepted an introduction “without applying the scrutiny I should have.”
Gates said he cut off ties with Epstein in 2014 when it became clear the donors Epstein promised to deliver would not be making contributions to Gates’ philanthropic work: “I should never have met with Epstein in the first place. Based on what I know now, I understand that even if he had delivered the new donors he promised, it would not have justified associating with him.”
But Gates also said Epstein learned “sensitive information about my personal life, including the fact that I had been unfaithful in my marriage,” and used it “to pressure me to re-engage with him. He was unsuccessful in this effort, but it shows some of the ways he tried to leverage his interactions with me to further his agenda.”
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee wants to hear from acting Attorney General Todd Blanche in July about his handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, chair James Comer told reporters Wednesday.
“I think we all know he has a big confirmation coming up,” the Kentucky Republican said of Blanche, who President Donald Trump nominated earlier this week to formally lead the Justice Department. “I’ve always wanted Blanche to come in … We have questions.”
Comer said he was communicating with the Justice Department about extending an invitation for Blanche to sit for an interview as part of the panel’s ongoing Epstein investigation. It comes after former Attorney General Pam Bondi told the Oversight Committee in a recent transcribed interview that Blanche, as her deputy, was responsible for overseeing the release of the Epstein materials in DOJ’s possession — a process that included delays and botched redactions.
“The main thing that we have for Blanche is the question on what, if any documents are left out there,” Comer continued. “So that’s the main question.”
Should the Justice Department agree to make him available, the meeting would come at a particularly high-stakes moment for Blanche, who can’t afford to lose much support from Republicans in the Senate and still be confirmed as the nation’s top prosecutor.
Democrats on the Oversight Committee have been calling on Comer to have Blanche in to speak with them and indicated they could force a vote to subpoena him, should Comer decline to facilitate Blanche’s engagement with the panel under less aggressive circumstances.
Comer shared his intentions Wednesday morning as he headed in for a transcribed interview with tech mogul Bill Gates, who is poised to discuss his ties to Epstein with lawmakers and committee staff investigators.
A Justice Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Republicans solved an immediate crisis Tuesday, clearing for President Donald Trump’s signature a party-line bill to fund immigration enforcement agencies into 2029. But that hardly improves the chances of avoiding a shutdown for the rest of the government.
Members of both parties say the odds of another federal funding lapse are unimproved, if not heightened, by the GOP’s choice to fund ICE and Border Patrol for three years without buy-in from Democrats — even though they no longer have to fight about one of the thorniest policy issues confronting Congress.
As Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) put it, the GOP’s move to fund immigration agencies for three years “takes care” of the threat of a shutdown “in that area … But how many other accounts do we have that we could have another kerfuffle?”
“It’s not helpful for sure,” Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the Senate’s top Democratic appropriator, told reporters of the GOP’s use of the budget reconciliation process for funding DHS immigration activities. “It makes it very difficult for us moving forward.”
Republicans’ circumvention of the normal appropriations process comes less than four months from the next government shutdown deadline Sept. 30, which will hit just weeks before the midterms determine which party controls the House and Senate next year.
It’s widely accepted on Capitol Hill that Congress will need to pass a stopgap funding bill to keep cash flowing for the agencies past the November elections. Yet some are predicting that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer will go further, directing his members to oppose a funding patch — though Democrats have not committed to threatening a shutdown.
“They do not want appropriation bills. They do want to shut down the government,” Sen. John Kennedy told reporters of Democrats. “And they think they’re going to take the House and maybe the Senate and can get a better deal then.”
Many appropriators are holding out hope that collegiality on the House and Senate funding panels will ultimately prevail — if for no other reason than the margins of the GOP majorities in both chambers depend on it. Others are concerned Republicans have opened the door to funding more conservative priorities through reconciliation measures rather than the annual government funding bills.
After House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris of Maryland floated the idea this week of putting more controversial spending proposals into party-line packages, House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) immediately rejected it.
“We’re not doing that. I will just tell you flat out, that will not happen,” Cole told reporters Tuesday morning. “I don’t think [the GOP-only reconciliation bill] is a precedent. But if it became a regular practice, I certainly wouldn’t be supporting it.”
What else we’re watching:
—TRUMP REJECTS A PULTE OFF-RAMP TO SAVE FISA: Trump indicated in a private meeting with Speaker Mike Johnson Tuesday he’s not inclined to appease Democrats and pave the way for an extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act by quickly nominating a permanent director of national intelligence to replace the controversial acting director, Bill Pulte. The deadline to avoid a program lapse is Friday.
Trump doubled down on his pick Tuesday evening, announcing on Truth Social that Pulte would officially take the reins on June 19 — even earlier than what many had expected.
Most Democrats are still refusing to move forward with a reauthorization of Section 702 authority — or approve another short-term extension — so long as Pulte, a Trump ally with no intelligence experience, remains in the post.
“People were already getting grumpy about continued short-term extensions, and the naming of Bill Pulte just made them more grumpy,” said Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.
— HOUSE OVERSIGHT TO PRESS BILL GATES ON EPSTEIN: Bill Gates has gotten used to hitting softballs from lawmakers about his philanthropy. But the billionaire Microsoft founder and global health activist will face a very different audience Wednesday when he’s due to answer questions behind closed doors about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
Gates is set to testify before House Oversight and Government Reform as part of the panel’s ongoing Epstein investigation, and members, in interviews over the past week, say they aren’t going to take it easy on him. It will be a test of whether the world’s richest man can continue to avoid the reputational damage others have incurred by virtue of their ties to the late, convicted sex offender, as people who rely on Gates’ philanthropic foundation have not yet cut ties.
“It’s obviously really, really troubling, and I’m somebody who believes that Bill Gates has done extraordinary philanthropic work around the world and truly life-saving work,” said Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-Va.), a member of the panel. “But we obviously have to separate our feelings about that from this investigation, and those two things co-exist.”
Meredith Lee Hill, Carmen Paun, Hailey Fuchs and Calen Razor contributed to this report.
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