WASHINGTON — The Senate has voted to confirm Jay Clayton as the next leader of the nation’s intelligence agencies, installing a permanent director weeks after President Donald Trump moved to slow the nomination process.
Clayton, currently the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and a former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, was approved in a 51-47 vote that fell along party lines. Senate Republicans had originally aimed to confirm him in June, but Trump postponed his hearing so Bill Pulte, his temporary choice for the role, could serve for several weeks following the resignation of former director Tulsi Gabbard.
Pulte, a former housing regulator with no background in intelligence, had drawn unease from senators in both parties. He was serving in the post earlier this month when Trump delivered a White House speech in which he again advanced false claims about the 2020 election, which he lost, and released classified documents he described as connected to those arguments.
Clayton also faced sharp criticism from Democrats, particularly after a tense confirmation hearing two weeks ago. During that session, he repeatedly declined to state directly that former President Joe Biden won the 2020 election, a position that cost him bipartisan support.
Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said at the close of the hearing that he was “bitterly disappointed” in Clayton, despite having initially spoken favorably about his nomination.
Warner said he would vote against Clayton, while also conceding that Democrats were “between a rock and a hard place” because Pulte remained in the position on an acting basis.
After the confirmation vote, Trump celebrated Clayton’s approval on social media, writing: “Jay is outstanding in every way, and will do a spectacular job as Director!”
Trump revisits false claims about 2020 election
Democratic opposition to Clayton has intensified as Trump continues to make the 2020 election a central political focus, repeatedly attempting to undermine confidence in the results and promoting debunked claims about Biden’s victory. At his hearing, Clayton said several times that the election was “certified” for Biden, but stopped short of plainly saying Biden won.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said he thought Clayton’s performance was “abysmal,” and that “makes it much less likely that he will get Democratic votes.”
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Hours before the scheduled Senate vote on Clayton, Pulte released intelligence community documents from 2020 that described China’s capacity to interfere in the American political process as well as vulnerabilities in the election system.
The substance of the material was largely recycled and already known, but its disclosure is part of the broader Trump administration effort to raise concerns about the integrity of U.S. elections.
Clayton emphasized his experience
Pulte has also said he has presided over a downsizing of the national intelligence office, which functions as a coordinating hub for the U.S. government’s intelligence agencies. He boasted on social media that with the latest round of job cuts, the office is carrying out about a 30% staff reduction from weeks ago. He has not offered details about those cuts, making it hard to immediately corroborate the extent of any reductions.
Clayton did not mention Pulte in the confirmation hearing. But he emphasized his own government and national security experience, attempting to assuage senators in both parties.
“I saw firsthand how a strong national security apparatus depends on decisive judgment, discipline, integrity, and effective communication and cooperation across different branches of the government,” Clayton said. “If confirmed as Director of National Intelligence, I will commit to upholding these principles every day.”
Clayton also told senators that he had no involvement in Trump’s speech about the 2020 election.
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton, R-Ark., who expressed frustration last month when the hearing was delayed, said that Clayton has a reputation for operating with “morality, decency and integrity” in his previous positions.
“Jay Clayton is a highly qualified nominee with a deep experience combating a wide range of national security threats,” Cotton said.
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