Axios Hill Leaders

June 11, 2026
Big Thursday! Tonight's edition is 821 words, 3 minutes.
- đź‘€ Trump blinks first
- ‼️ Next bitter primary
1 big thing: đź‘€ Trump blinks first

President Trump has given lawmakers what they demanded on FISA, but only after leaving Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson without enough time to stop the surveillance program from lapsing.
🛑 Why it matters: Trump's decision to install Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence blew up bipartisan support for renewing Section 702 of FISA.
- Congress left town today with Section 702 headed for a lapse despite Trump finally naming Jay Clayton as the permanent nominee.
- The House failed this morning to pass a short-term patch through July 2. The Senate later rejected a unanimous consent request to do the same.
📲 Trump announced Clayton after the House vote, despite vowing yesterday that he would give Pulte time to purge the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
- With the House out on recess next week, Section 702 will go dark for at least a week.
- Clayton's "intelligence, temperament and deep commitment to public service will make him a terrific DNI. Had this nomination been made a week ago, lots of pain might have been avoided," Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, wrote on X.
🥅 Between the lines: Democrats are now signaling they want to see Clayton formally confirmed before backing a reauthorization.
- They'd previously argued that Trump needed to nominate a full-time person for the post.
- The top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, Mark Warner (D-Va.), said: "The president could have put forward a qualified nominee from the beginning. Instead, he waited until the House of Representatives went out of town, choosing a path that raises the risk of an entirely avoidable lapse in a critical national security tool."
Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and a former SEC chair, was reportedly recommended to Trump by CIA Director John Ratcliffe.
📺 What's next: The Senate Intelligence Committee is expected to hold closed and open confirmation hearings for Clayton next Tuesday and Wednesday.
- The Senate will "probe the limits" of getting Clayton confirmed on or before June 19, when Pulte becomes acting DNI, Thune told reporters.
🦅 The bottom line: The White House didn't give Thune a heads-up on Clayton. Thune also wasn't present at the two White House meetings this week when Johnson had pushed to resolve the FISA standoff.
— Kate Santaliz
2. ‼️ Next bitter primary
The political arm of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus is quietly putting massive sums into helping the group's chair, Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.), win his primary.
Why it matters: The spending signals how much peril Espaillat's allies think he is facing from democratic socialist challenger Darializa Avila Chevalier.
- The race in New York's 13th District, which covers parts of Upper Manhattan and the West Bronx, has attracted huge independent expenditures from outside groups and national media attention.
- Avila Chevalier has leaned heavily into her endorsement from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
The big picture: This is one of several races pitting Mamdani against the NYC establishment, most notably House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who is supporting Espaillat.
- Mamdani has endorsed NYC Comptroller Brad Lander in his primary challenge against Jeffries-backed Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.)
- He is also backing State Assembly member Claire Valdez in the race to succeed Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.), who is supporting Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso. Jeffries has not endorsed in that race.
Driving the news: Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.), who chairs the CHC's BOLD PAC, told us in a brief Capitol Hill interview yesterday that the group is "heavily invested" in helping Espaillat secure reelection.
- Sanchez confirmed in a follow-up interview that her group is routing most of its spending through another PAC, BOLD America.
- That group was launched in 2023 by New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and former Reps. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Calif.) and Filemon Vela (D-Texas) to help elect Hispanic Democrats to Congress.
- A newly released Data for Progress poll commissioned by Justice Democrats, a group supporting Avila Chevalier, has her leading Espaillat 39% to 35%, according to Semafor.
By the numbers: BOLD America is, by far, the largest spender in the primary, having invested more than $2.5 million in the race, according to its FEC filings.
- Avila Chevalier's biggest outside backer, pro-Palestinian super PAC American Priorities, has reported spending $500,000 on the race so far.
- Asked about BOLD America's spending on his behalf at the Axios AM Live Summit on Tuesday, Espaillat pointed to Texas businessman Hussein Mahrouq's financial support for American Priorities.
- "We've got to have campaign finance reform ... because as long as we have Citizens United, you'll have an unlimited amount of money coming in from a bunch of places," the Hispanic Caucus chair added.
What's next: Early voting in New York begins Saturday, with primary day set for June 23.
— Andrew Solender
This newsletter was edited by Justin Green and copy edited by Kathie Bozanich.
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