Senate Democrats are threatening to withhold their votes to renew Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) after President Trump’s appointment of Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and Chairman of Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, William J. Pulte, to serve as Acting Director of National Intelligence, Punchbowl News reports. President Trump Names Acting Director Of National Intelligence "MARK WARNER has told JOHN THUNE to try to get @pulte removed as DNI. If he's in the job, Democrats are threatening to withhold their votes for FISA, which expires in 9 days. FISA is at real risk of expiring due to Trump's decision to put PULTE in as DNI. Almost certain that JOHNSON cannot put the bill on suspension now. And can he get it out of rules?" Punchbowl News founder Jake Sherman wrote. HUGE scoop from @AndrewDesiderio and @LauraEWeiss16 MARK WARNER has told JOHN THUNE to try to get @pulte removed as DNI. If he's in the job, Democrats are threatening to withhold their votes for FISA, which expires in 9 days. FISA is at real risk of expiring due to Trump's… — Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) June 3, 2026 Punchbowl News explained further: Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chair Mark Warner (D-Va.) asked Senate Majority Leader John Thune on Tuesday to use his influence with the White House to reverse Trump’s move to install Pulte as overseer of the nation’s 18 intelligence agencies, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. Warner, who’s been critical in building Democratic support for a bipartisan deal to extend FISA Section 702, made clear to Thune that all options are on the table to reverse what Democrats see as a dangerous Trump pick to lead ODNI. Pulte, who currently leads the Federal Housing Finance Agency, has no national security experience and has used his existing role to exact revenge on Trump’s political foes. From Warner’s perspective, it’s impossible to convince enough Democrats to support a reauthorization of Section 702 when Pulte would be the one overseeing the program. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has also privately told senators that the Pulte appointment makes passing a FISA deal much more difficult. Plus, Democrats believe they’d be doing Republicans a favor because they also see Pulte as unqualified for the job, even if few openly say it. As we scooped Tuesday, the White House had indicated to top Republicans that Aaron Lukas, whom Trump announced as the acting DNI 12 days ago, would remain in the role for an extended period. Senate Republicans felt blindsided. "The idea that they would try to play politics right now because they don't like the president's choice of an appointment is absolutely stunning to me," House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said. Watch below: .@SpeakerJohnson on Democrats regarding Bill Pulte and FISA: "The idea that they would try to play politics right now because they don't like the president's choice of an appointment is absolutely stunning to me." pic.twitter.com/w4UkELlQEl — CSPAN (@cspan) June 3, 2026 More from The Guardian: The powerful intelligence tool has long attracted controversy, since the program targets foreign nationals whose messages may pass through US servers or involve US contacts, meaning a wide array of domestic communications can be swept up without a warrant ever being sought. The FBI in 2020 was discovered using section 702 to investigate whether protesters involved with Black Lives Matter had any ties to terrorists, according to a declassified memo released by the office of the director of national intelligence in 2023, a seat that would soon be filled by Pulte. Mark Warner, a Democrat and vice-chair of the US Senate intelligence committee, trashed Pulte’s lack of experience for the position. “What qualifications from my standpoint does Mr Pulte bring to the office? Well, he has shown that he is willing to do anything that President Trump wants, legal or otherwise,” he said during a hearing on Tuesday. In an interview with NPR on Wednesday morning, Warner went further, saying that Pulte’s appointment had upended what he described as an already difficult path to renewal of section 702. “I do not have the confidence I had yesterday,” he said, adding that the move amounted to placing “someone with no intelligence background, any record of misusing private information, in charge of Director of National Intelligence” at the worst possible moment.