A key Republican senator, Tom Cotton, had vowed to push forward with a hearing anyway, but Trump eventually directed Clayton to not appear for his confirmation proceedings, forcing Cotton, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, to announce that the hearing was postponed.

The House vote collapsed in bipartisan fashion, with some Republicans and nearly Democrats rejecting the temporary measure. The Senate may try its own vote later Thursday, but hopes are dimming to prevent what could be an unprecedented lapse in the surveillance tool. The law expires on Friday at midnight.

A lapse in a law that allows the U.S. to gather intelligence abroad grew more likely on Wednesday as President Donald Trump resisted calls from Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill to immediately name a permanent head of the nation's intelligence agencies.