Jay Clayton has been confirmed as Trump’s new director of national intelligence

Jay Clayton has been confirmed as the next Director of National Intelligence (DNI) after President Donald Trump’s primary nomination was rejected by lawmakers.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate voted 51 to 47 to confirm Clayton, replacing Acting DNI Bill Pulte. Pulte was Trump’s first choice but faced criticism as a housing official with no national intelligence experience.

Clayton previously served as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, prosecuting several high-profile cases against former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, including drug trafficking.

“Jay is brilliant in every way, and will do a fantastic job as a director!” Trump then posted on Truth Social.

Clayton, a former securities regulator and federal prosecutor, resigned last month and was replaced by Tulsi Gabbard, who was replaced by Pulte on an interim basis.

A Trump loyalist has used his other role as federal housing regulator to prosecute several of the president’s political opponents and oversee staff cuts.

Shortly before the vote on Clayton’s appointment passed, Pulte wrote about the cuts at X: “We are executing the 5th and final round of layoffs this morning, a 30% reduction in staff from weeks ago.”

Trump announced Clayton as his replacement shortly after the alarm sounded in June. Senators wanted to move quickly with his approval.

However, Clayton’s first appearance before the Senate Intelligence Committee on June 17 was canceled by Trump. They blamed the lawyers To authorize the repeal of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

Initially, Democrats welcomed Clayton as a more conventional candidate than Pulte, though their opinion appeared to have changed during his confirmation hearing earlier this month.

Clayton was repeatedly asked if former Democratic President Joe Biden would win the 2020 election, and his answer was that Biden had been certified as the winner. “I’m not anti-choice,” Clayton told senators.

Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner, a Democrat, said afterward that he “came away from (Clayton’s) confirmation hearing with serious anticipation of whether he would be willing to withstand political pressure.”

“I sincerely hope those concerns prove unfounded, because the intelligence community deserves more permanent leadership than it has received in recent months,” Warner said in a statement.

Clayton’s confirmation could help revive congressional negotiations. Section 702 of FISA. This law allows the US government to collect the communications of foreign nationals abroad without an individual warrant, and Trump has long sought to renew it.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican, said Monday that “(Clayton’s appointment) will ensure that my colleagues stop re-blocking the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.”