Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Monday placed a hold on the full Senate vote to approve James Clapper as the next director of national intelligence. “Senator McCain requested a specific report from Mr. Clapper and until that report is provided, Senator McCain will continue to hold his nomination,” McCain’s spokeswoman Brooke Buchanan wrote in an e-mailed response to a Daily Report query. Buchanan declined to say what information this report would contain. This development means Clapper’s full Senate vote might not take place until after the Congressional August recess that starts Aug. 9, even though the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence unanimously approved Clapper’s nomination July 29. Clapper currently serves as undersecretary of defense for intelligence. (For more, see Clapper Makes Case to be Nation’s Intel Czar.)
A provision in the fiscal 2025 defense policy bill will require the Defense Department to include the military occupational specialty of service members who die by suicide in its annual report on suicide deaths, though it remains to be seen how much data the department will actually disclose.