Trump seeks to slow confirming his pick for spy chief and delay hearing

US President Donald Trump is seeking to delay a hearing to confirm his pick for the nation's top spy chief, citing frustration with surveillance legislation stalled in Congress.

Jay Clayton is scheduled to appear before the Senate intelligence committee on Wednesday - his first step toward taking over as director of national intelligence (DNI).

On Truth Social, Trump said he would delay the hearing over frustration that lawmakers had allowed the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to lapse.

A showdown between the president and Republican-led committee has started, with Chair Tom Cotton saying the hearing will proceed unless Trump directs Clayton not to appear or withdraws his nomination.

Meanwhile, the Democrat vice-chair of the committee, Mark Warner, said in a statement that: "National security cannot be governed by social media post".

"What we're witnessing is an extraordinary display of dysfunction from a president who seems determined to turn America's national security into a political bargaining chip," he said.

The Clayton hearing is scheduled for 14:00 EDT (18:00 GMT).

In his early morning social media post, Trump said that he would not "approve" the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) unless the SAVE America Act is included.

The SAVE act would require people to provide ID and proof of citizenship to vote. Democrats have widely condemned it, arguing that if it becomes law it will restrict the rights of voters.

The current iteration of FISA, which governs how intelligence agencies can gather information from US telecoms companies, lacks sufficient support to pass. Adding the SAVE Act could make passage more difficult.

He then tied his proposed combined legislation to his recent nomination of Clayton, currently the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), to become DNI. Lawmakers from both parties want to swiftly confirm Clayton in order to speed the departure of the current acting DNI, Bill Pulte.

In the post, Trump said that until Clayton's successor at the SDNY is approved and until Clayton goes through the Senate confirmation process, loyalist Pulte would continue in the DNI role on an interim basis.

The president faced bipartisan pushback when he first tapped Pulte, who has no national security background, for the acting DNI job.

When Trump announced last week he had selected Clayton as Pulte's permanent replacement, Senators sought to move ahead quickly with his confirmation process.

The US director of national intelligence is country's top spy chief and oversees 18 government intelligence agencies. They serve as the principal adviser to the president, the National Security Council, and the Homeland Security Council on national security matters related to intelligence.

The next DNI chief will replace outgoing director Tulsi Gabbard, who announced last month that she will leave the role 30 June.