House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., reportedly will suggest to President Donald Trump that he choose a different nominee than Bill Pulte to fill the director of national intelligence role permanently.

The recommendation comes as Democrats threaten to block reauthorization of a key foreign surveillance program unless Pulte, a close Trump ally with no national security background, is removed from his temporary post as acting director of national intelligence.

According to Politico, congressional Democrats have united around a demand that Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act not be renewed while Pulte remains in charge of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

The surveillance authority, used to monitor foreign targets overseas, is scheduled to expire June 12 unless Congress acts.

The standoff has placed national security priorities at risk as Democrats use the looming deadline as leverage against the Trump administration's personnel decision.

White House officials have pushed back. Spokesman Davis Ingle defended Pulte and accused Democrats of jeopardizing national security for political reasons.

"Holding FISA hostage puts America's national security at risk," Ingle said, according to Politico.

Republican leaders have largely deferred to Trump on the matter, but several have signaled that naming a permanent nominee could help break the impasse.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, noted that Pulte's role is temporary and suggested a permanent nominee could ease passage of the surveillance extension.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., similarly acknowledged that Republicans will likely need some Democrat votes to move the legislation through the Senate.

The controversy intensified after Trump told The Wall Street Journal that he wants Pulte to begin reducing the size of the intelligence bureaucracy, which oversees 18 intelligence agencies and components.

Trump argued the Office of the Director of National Intelligence has become too large and said Pulte's temporary status gives him greater flexibility to implement reforms before a permanent director is confirmed.

"I'd like to see it smaller," Trump told the Journal, adding that there are "a lot of people in there that shouldn't be there."

Trump has also said he is interviewing candidates for the permanent position and emphasized that Pulte's appointment is temporary.

Meanwhile, Democrats continue to demand Pulte's removal.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., called the acting director of national intelligence a "political hack" and argued that negotiations over Section 702 cannot move forward until the administration changes course.

Johnson has vowed Congress will not allow the surveillance authority to lapse.

But with a narrow Republican majority in the House and Democrat resistance in both chambers, the battle over Pulte's future has become a major obstacle to renewing one of the nation's most important intelligence tools.