WASHINGTON — As President Donald Trump scrambles to wrap up his war with Iran, he’s escalating another one much closer to home, against members of his own party in Congress.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.From the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in France, Trump ordered the Senate on Wednesday to cancel an afternoon hearing for Jay Clayton, his nominee to be director of national intelligence, and threatened not to sign a reauthorization of a critical surveillance law unless the Senate passed a sweeping election bill that has already failed — repeatedly.The hearing delay not only blindsided and frustrated Senate Republicans, but it also completely derailed Majority Leader John Thune’s carefully laid plans to fast-track the nomination in a bid to unlock Democratic votes for the now-expired spying program.Asked why Trump would pull the rug out from under them, Thune, R-S.D., said, “Good question.”The Clayton incident isn’t the first time in recent weeks Trump has made Thune’s life more difficult.Asked whether Trump and Senate Republicans are on different pages, Sen.
Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, replied, “It may not be so much a different page, but he’s turning it ahead without telling us about it.”The already fragile relationship is nearing a breaking point as Trump uses his clout to knock out senators in primaries, issue unachievable demands and repeatedly force the caucus into politically fraught positions.A number of Republican senators have expressed confusion, since his actions make it harder for them to push the White House’s own agenda forward.
“It’s undermining our ability to produce the very results he wants,” said retiring Sen.Thom Tillis, R-N.C.
He called the Clayton postponement “a colossal mistake.”GOP leaders pleaded with Trump to nominate a permanent national intelligence director after his acting pick, Bill Pulte, created a bipartisan firestor...