House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday accused Democrats of "playing politics" with critical surveillance and intelligence tools to frustrate the nomination of Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte to serve as Director of National Intelligence.

Trump announced his nomination of Pulte this week to replace the outgoing Tulsi Gabbard, who decided to step down after her husband was diagnosed with cancer. Pulte's nomination received skepticism from Democrats, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who suggested that the nomination could endanger the renewal of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

“The idea that they would try to play politics right now because they don’t like the president’s choice of an appointment is absolutely stunning to me," Johnson told reporters. He further called Section 702 "the most important intelligence tool that we have."

Section 702 is a provision that allows for the warrantless surveillance of foreigners abroad. It has, however, faced scrutiny due to the possibility that intelligence community officials may gather information on Americans in the process, and do so without a warrant. Various agencies have also faced scrutiny over their access of the Section 702 database, which stores such information.

Section 702 is set to expire on June 12, according to The Hill, and despite criticisms from privacy hawks, much of Congress regards the legislation as a priority item.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent for Just the News. Follow him on X.