WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate is poised to vote Tuesday on confirming Jay Clayton to lead the country’s intelligence community, a move aimed at putting a permanent director in place ahead of the approaching midterm elections.
Clayton’s confirmation is anticipated to pass along party lines, following a heated hearing two weeks ago in which he repeatedly declined to acknowledge that former President Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election. Even so, Democrats have indicated they view Clayton as a more trustworthy option than the current temporary director, Bill Pulte, who has no known background in intelligence and used his previous role as a federal housing regulator to investigate individuals the president considered adversaries.
Senators from both parties have raised concerns about Pulte, who stepped into the interim role last month after Tulsi Gabbard stepped down. During Pulte’s tenure, President Trump delivered a White House address in which he repeated false claims about the 2020 election — which he lost — and released classified materials he claimed supported his arguments.
Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the leading Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee, noted that he has a prior working relationship with Clayton, who currently serves as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and previously chaired the Securities and Exchange Commission. Following the confirmation hearing, Warner announced he would vote against Clayton’s nomination, but conceded that Democrats find themselves “between a rock and a hard place” with Pulte currently holding the position.
On Monday, the Senate moved Clayton’s nomination forward with a 51-43 vote along party lines.
The Democratic resistance to Clayton is unfolding as Trump has made challenging the 2020 election results a central theme, repeatedly attempting to undermine confidence in that election and amplifying theories about Biden’s victory that have been debunked.
During his hearing, Clayton told senators he had no role in Trump’s primetime address, but consistently referred to the election as having been “certified” for Biden rather than directly stating that the Democrat had won.
Warner described his reaction at the close of the hearing as being “bitterly disappointed.” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called Clayton’s hearing performance “abysmal,” adding that it “makes it much less likely that he will get Democratic votes.”
Republicans had hoped to get Clayton confirmed back in June so he could step directly into the role vacated by Gabbard, avoiding an interim appointment. However, Trump held off on advancing Clayton’s nomination before the Senate departed for a two-week recess, which allowed Pulte to take over temporarily.
Clayton did not bring up Pulte during his confirmation hearing, but he did highlight his own experience in government and national security in an effort to reassure members of 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.”
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton, R-Ark., who expressed frustration when the hearing was postponed last month, praised Clayton’s reputation for “morality, decency and integrity” in his previous roles.
“Jay Clayton is a highly qualified nominee with a deep experience combating a wide range of national security threats,” Cotton said.
