WASHINGTON — Jay Clayton cleared his first hurdle in the Senate Monday night to become the next director of national intelligence after a nomination process filled with curveballs.
Clayton cleared a procedural vote, 51-43, along party lines.
If confirmed in a final vote later this week, Clayton will take over for acting DNI Bill Pulte and become the official replacement for Tulsi Gabbard, who stepped down in June.
Senate leader John Thune (R-SD) filed cloture on Clayton’s nomination last Wednesday after the vote passed through the Senate Intelligence Committee.
“Amid a heightened threat environment, having a proven leader in this role is especially important, and Jay Clayton fits this mold,” Thune said on the Senate floor ahead of the vote.
The Senate majority leader argued Clayton’s record as the top prosecutor in the Southern District of New York and as chairman of Securities and Exchange Commission “inspires confidence in the type of DNI that he will be.”
“Democrats have previously recognized his abilities,” Thune said, noting Clayton has previously “earned bipartisan support.”
“So one might think that we’d be seeing some bipartisanship from Democrats on this nominee, but Democrats are playing the same partisan games with this qualified nominee as they have for so many of President Trump’s picks,” the South Dakota Republican lamented.
Gabbard, the original DNI, officially stepped down four weeks ago citing the need to take care of her husband who is dealing with an “extremely rare form of bone cancer.”
Clayton was nominated on June 11 after President Trump was heavily criticized by both parties for his appointment of Pulte, who is a federal housing regulator.
“Few people anywhere in the Legal Community are respected at the level of Jay,” Trump said in a June Truth Social post. “I encourage the United States Senate to confirm Jay as soon as possible.”
However, during Clayton’s original hearing, Trump told him not to show up — delaying the nomination for weeks — due to Trump’s increased push for the SAVE America Act to pass in the Senate, and to find a replacement as new US Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Democrats seemed eager to get Pulte out of office amid ongoing layoffs at the ODNI.
On Sunday, Pulte announced in a X post that the ODNI has finished their 4th round of “thoughtful, measured layoffs.”
Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner (D-VA) said that he was “anxious to get a permanent DNI” to replace Pulte, stating that he’s one of the least qualified people for the job.
Despite Warner’s statement, no Democrats voted to advance Clayton on Monday.
“Democrats have made no secret of their disdain for current acting director of intelligence, national intelligence,” Thune said on the Senate floor. “In fact, Democrats were so worked up over the president’s temporary choice for this position, they allowed our nation’s most important counterterrorism tool to go dark for the first time ever.
“Now Democrats have the opportunity to replace that acting official, but they’re in no apparent rush to confirm a permanent director of national intelligence.”
While Clayton also lacks a traditional intelligence background, he framed his resume as his top qualification, especially his experience “leading and improving large organizations.”
His role as US attorney gave him “significant national security experience” including matters involving foreign terrorist organizations, money laundering, bribery, and the “abuse of our communications platforms to create and sow distrust.”
Clayton was originally expected to receive more bipartisan support, but after a testy hearing, and New York Times subpoenas, Democrats have put the nominee on thin ice.
During Clayton’s hearing last week, Democrats were heated over his remarks on election fraud and the 2020 presidential race.
“I’m not an election denier,” Clayton said during the hearing. “Joe Biden was certified as the president of the United States.”
During Trump’s July visit to Turkey for NATO, the Trump Administration subpoenaed several NYT journalists after reporting that he swapped the new Qatari-gifted plane for the former Air Force One over a “security precaution.”
The subpoenas were issued by Clayton, calling for journalists to testify “in regard to an alleged violation of federal criminal law,” according to the Times. Clayton’s move was heavily criticized, and called “menacing.”
“If the government were to prevail here, no reporter in America would be safe in having a source on the functioning of the federal government,” said attorney Norm Eisen, the executive director of the Democracy Defenders Fund.
Last week, the Justice Department withdrew the subpoenas, which called for phone records and a grand jury testimony from the journalists.
A date for the final confirmation vote is not confirmed, but is expected to happen by the end of the week.
