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WASHINGTON — <\/span>Republicans are warning the White House that a critical surveillance authority<\/a> is likely to lapse this week amid bipartisan backlash over President Donald Trump\u2019s pick to temporarily lead<\/a> the nation\u2019s intelligence community.<\/p>\n Sen. Tom Cotton, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, sounded the alarm in a letter over the weekend after a failed procedural vote to extend the program. <\/p>\n The senators urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who also acts as the president’s National Security Advisor, to prepare \u201cfor a potential significant gap in foreign intelligence collection\u201d if the authority expires. Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, set to lapse June 12, allows agencies including the CIA, National Security Agency and FBI to collect communications from foreign targets overseas without a warrant.<\/p>\n In a response obtained by The Associated Press, Rubio replied to the senators that he understands the \u201cpolitical challenges\u201d but said he is \u201cdeeply disappointed\u201d that Democrats are opposing the legislation. <\/p>\n \u201cAllowing Section 702 to expire would have dire impacts on our ability to keep the nation secure,\u201d Rubio wrote. <\/p>\n Efforts to secure a long-term extension of the program already faced hurdles<\/a> because of bipartisan concerns that the program can incidentally collect Americans\u2019 communications. Privacy advocates and some lawmakers have been pushing to create a new warrant requirement before those communications can be searched.<\/p>\n Senate leaders from both parties appeared to be nearing bipartisan agreement on a long-term extension, but the effort collapsed after Trump selected federal housing finance regulator Bill Pulte to serve as acting director of national intelligence. <\/p>\n Democrats and several Republicans registered their opposition to Trump\u2019s selection of Pulte, arguing the federal housing finance regulator lacks the experience needed to oversee the nation\u2019s 18 intelligence agencies and has used his current position to investigate some of the president’s perceived political rivals. <\/p>\n \u201cWhy the president would throw this live hand grenade of Bill Pulte in 10 days before this is due to expire, I’m not sure,” Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said on ABC’s \u201cThis Week.\u201d <\/p>\n Even as they say it is critical, Democrats have said they won’t have the votes to renew the surveillance authority unless Pulte’s appointment is withdrawn. Republican leaders tried to start the process last week, but seven Republicans joined nearly all Democrats in blocking a long-term extension. <\/p>\n \u201cThe White House bears the responsibility to fix this,\u201d Warner said. \u201cThey have the power to do it. They can do it today. Let\u2019s see what happens.\u201d <\/p>\n Trump has said that Pulte won’t be his permanent pick, but has not announced a nominee to be confirmed by the Senate. <\/p>\n Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Monday that there are \u201cconversations\u201d around the White House nominating a permanent pick for the job before the surveillance authority expires. But he said he wasn’t sure what they would decide to do. <\/p>\n \u201cWe have a deadline ahead of us. We need Democrat votes,\u201d Thune said. \u201cThe naming of Pulte to that position, although the timing arguably wasn\u2019t the best, I still don\u2019t think it ought to derail something that\u2019s this important.” <\/p>\n Thune has also expressed concern over Pulte’s pick, saying the nation\u2019s top intelligence post should not be \u201cweaponized\u201d and that the job should be filled by \u201cprofessionals.\u201d Cotton, who rarely strays from supporting Trump and is a leading advocate for the surveillance authority, declined to endorse Pulte last week, saying only that he had \u201cno observations on the matter.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s not qualified for the long-term position,\u201d Republican Sen. James Lankford, another member of the Intelligence Committee, told \u201cFox News Sunday.\u201d \u201cThat\u2019s been clear on this. He has no national security background.\u201d<\/p>\n Both Republican and Democratic senators skeptical of Pulte pointed to his record at the Federal Housing Finance Agency. In the role, he’s been linked with criminal referrals over allegations of mortgage fraud by public officials Trump sought to punish, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat; Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.; and Lisa Cook, a board member of the Federal Reserve.<\/p>\n \u201cClearly to get to good-faith negotiations the effort to elevate Bill Pulte as the acting director of national intelligence should be reversed. Immediately,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said. <\/p>\n