Trump presses on with plan to install Bill Pulte as acting intelligence chief

Lawmakers warn appointment of presidential loyalist will scuttle bipartisan agreement to renew Fisa surveillance law

Donald Trump stood firm on his decision to install controversial loyalist Bill Pulte as the country's top intelligence official, demanding Congress pass a short-term extension of a surveillance law set to expire amid intense criticism of the appointment.

Pulte will has been asked to execute the immediate and needed downsizing" of the office of the director of national intelligence, the US president declared on Wednesday, after lining him up to serve as acting director on a temporary basis.