Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you.
Posted on 06/04/2026 5:12:34 AM PDT by cotton1706
Just when President Trump removed one thumb from the eye of Senate Republicans — scrapping his $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization fund" — he put another right back in with his choice of Bill Pulte as director of national intelligence.
Why it matters: This time, the stakes are even higher: Democrats are threatening to let the government's spy powers lapse next week unless Trump yanks the appointment.
State of play: Democratic outrage over Trump's latest moves usually doesn't amount to much. But Republicans need at least eight Democratic votes in the Senate to prevent the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Section 702 from lapsing on June 12, potentially forcing Trump to choose between sticking with Pulte or keeping Section 702 alive.
The warning lights started flashing on Monday when Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) teed off on the appointment. "I thought I had gotten to the stage where I could no longer be shocked by Donald Trump's choices," he told MS NOW, "but this may be the most outrageous of all."
As vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Warner is a key player in the Section 702 renewal debate.
Now Warner is pressing Senate Majority Leader John Thune to urge the White House to drop Pulte, per Punchbowl. As DNI, he would play a key role overseeing the Section 702 program.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday that renewal of surveillance powers, which has already been delayed for months, is in further jeopardy. "The timing of this announcement could not be worse," he said. "With just over a week until FISA Section 702's authorities expire, this announcement and its timing clearly make passing an extension of FISA much harder."
The big picture: The backlash isn't just coming from Democrats. Some of the sharpest criticism has come from Trump's own party.
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
|
|
Click here: to donate by Credit Card Or here: to donate by PayPal Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794 Thank you very much and God bless you. |
We don't want these stupid surveillance powers to be renewed!
Let them expire!
But this seems to be ALL Establishment Senators care about.
And by the way, I very much like thumbs in the eyes of Senate “Republicans”!
There's something nauseating about a scenario where Democrats are on the right side of a FISA surveillance vote.
So Trump puts in place such a hated MAGA guy that Dems might defeat a key foundation of the Surveillance State?
The 4D Chess! So good it hurts!
It’s hard to track the intricate inner workings of politics from the outside. I used to have a gold standard for understanding whatever the UN was doing. Ask the question, “Is France in favor?” If the answer was yes, then it was bad for the United States. I have a similar standard for American politics. The people who back open borders, taking children from parents who won’t let them be sterilized and the whole alphabet people thing...whatever position they take is bad for America.
“There’s something nauseating about a scenario where Democrats are on the right side of a FISA surveillance vote.”
Yeah what that means is: they’re worried about powers being held by somebody they don’t trust or approve of, instead of one of their good-time Establishment buddies.
I don't see the problem here.
It’s all about who’s ox is getting gored - for both sides.
🚨 TILLIS TO BESSENT: Did you tell Director Pulte you’d punch him in the face?
BESSENT: “No sir — I actually said I was going to kick his ASS!”
LMAOOOO ☠️
https://x.com/nicksortor/status/2062229062165156249
This is likely the real state of play that is going on with Dems & RINOS getting their knickers in a knot over Pulte who is only ‘acting’ - Trump needs to stand firm:
Bill Pulte is viewed as loyal, trustworthy and a solid team player. As a placeholder Pulte makes sense, and that explains retention of his current job in the Federal Housing Finance Agency while he fills the role of ‘acting DNI’. Given the legislative expectations behind the office, Pulte would seemingly have no path to permanent confirmation by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
Under the scenario (in my head) that seems to make the most sense, the White House would seem to favor current House Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Rick Crawford to fill the DNI spot. However, with only a one seat margin in the House pulling a republican member of the House to the cabinet is not plausible. In this scenario an acting appointment makes sense.
HPSCI Chairman Rick Crawford has worked closely with DNI Gabbard and seems like he: (a) wants the job, (b) would be qualified for the job; and more importantly (c) understands the job as executed by DNI Tulsi Gabbard. The last point is the most important. Crawford also fully appreciates how badly the IC was weaponized by political corruption, and he knows (generally) who the bad administrators were in the weaponization of the IC and what actions they took.
Having a DNI that accepts and admits all previous corruption is really important, and unfortunately there are not many names in/out of Washington DC who have any substantive concept of it. Very few; very, very, few people, can fathom just how badly the Intelligence Community has been compromised. What set Tulsi Gabbard apart from the rest was her keen awareness of reality. Crawford does seem to come closest to that frame of mind.
If Rick Crawford was viewed as the best candidate to replace Tulsi, then putting Pulte into position as a placeholder makes sense.
If Republicans lose the House in the midterms, Crawford moves to DNI (seats numbers become moot). If Republicans can gain seats in the Midterms, Crawford can move to DNI. That type of scenario played out is my best guess for why Bill Pulte was announced.
These scumbags have no self awareness.
Thune himself did not mince words about Pulte, who used his perch as head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency to target Trump’s adversaries. “We don’t need a weaponized DNI, we need professionals there,” he said.
Thune is useless to us. He’s gonna get the McCarthy treatment. Should get the other McCarthy treatment too.
Democratic outrage over Trump's latest moves usually doesn't amount to much. But Republicans need at least eight Democratic votes in the Senate to prevent the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Section 702 from lapsing on June 12, potentially forcing Trump to choose between sticking with Pulte or keeping Section 702 alive.
Hi. This is Tom Sawyer. This is the fence.
Consider the source: MSN.com
Why do you rubes keep falling for this schlock?
Even if the Surveillance Act is not renewed, does anyone think our onerous central government will cease spying on its own citizens? The apparatus is already there and will be used regardless. Passing the law is just window dressing.
Win/Win
They act like letting surveillance powers expire is a bad thing. 🙄
...but only when he wasn't the one in charge:
Democrats don’t need a FISA law to surveil their enemies.
So would you rather go with the Hill’s reporting on the same? https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/4382231/posts
I mean, it’s not like any of the people involved are being secretive, or that they’re being misrepresented: you can literally go to the actual Twitter accounts of the Representatives and Senators who are threatening to not reauthorize Section 702 because of Bill Pulte’s nomination, and you can read their own words.
How exactly is an article that aggregates that information “schlock”?
The impulsive desire by so many on this website to shoot the messenger just because of perceived bias (no matter how FACTUAL or TRUE the information therein is) is behavior unworthy of self-governing citizens.
✅ Spy on Americans
❌ Election integrity
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.