Senate approves Trump’s pick for spy chief, replacing Bill Pulte
Jay Clayton appears before the Senate Intelligence Committee during his confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on July 15, 2026.
Aaron Schwartz | Getty Images
On Tuesday evening, the Senate confirmed President Donald Trump’s pick for director of national intelligence, Jay Clayton, for the role that would give him access to the nation’s most sensitive secrets and authority over 18 U.S. intelligence agencies.
Clayton, the former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission and current U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, was confirmed by a party-line vote of 51 to 47.
“In an environment of increasing threat, it is especially important to have a proven leader in this role. Jay Clayton fits that mold,” Senate Majority Leader R.S.D. said from the Senate floor Monday. he said.
His ascension to the job ends the controversial reign of Bill Pulte, a close Trump ally and administrator of the Federal Housing Finance Agency who led the firings of a number of top intelligence officials during his short tenure.
Trump announced Clayton as his running mate for DNI in June, and it was initially viewed as a relatively uncontested choice. Lawmakers who wanted to oust Pulte tried to speed up Clayton’s confirmation. However, Trump delayed the process by instructing Clayton not to attend the morning of his confirmation hearing, which was scheduled to be held in June.
Clayton eventually testified before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence earlier this month, but the hearing became controversial as he refused to publicly state that Joe Biden had won the 2020 election and defended the subpoena of New York Times journalists over their reporting on a Qatari jet gifted to Trump.
“I just voted NO on Jay Clayton’s nomination for Director of National Intelligence. Why would someone who cannot accept who won the 2020 election oversee our intelligence agencies?” Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., sent to x on Tuesday.
The Justice Department later withdrew those subpoenas.
Clayton’s confirmation could also pave the way for a deal to renew the foreign surveillance law, known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which expired in June due in part to Democratic opposition to Pulte’s temporary appointment to the post.
