Trump says he will nominate Jay Clayton as intelligence director
The planned nomination follows criticism of Bill Pulte’s temporary appointment to oversee the US intelligence community.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
3 min read
President Donald Trump said Thursday that he will nominate federal prosecutor Jay Clayton to serve as US director of national intelligence. The move would put a Senate-confirmed nominee before lawmakers after criticism of Trump’s decision to place Bill Pulte temporarily in charge of the country’s intelligence agencies, Al Jazeera and The Associated Press reported.
Trump announced the choice on Truth Social, praising Clayton’s standing in the legal profession and urging the Senate to approve him quickly. Clayton is currently US attorney for the Southern District of New York and previously chaired the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to Al Jazeera and AP.
Nomination follows Pulte backlash
The planned nomination comes after Tulsi Gabbard resigned as director of national intelligence last month. Al Jazeera and AP reported that Trump then selected Pulte, the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, as acting director over the office that coordinates 18 intelligence agencies, including the CIA and the National Security Agency.
Pulte is a Trump loyalist and has no intelligence or military experience, according to Al Jazeera and AP. His appointment drew resistance from Democrats and concern from some Republicans, who urged Trump to choose someone else for the role.
Democrats had said they would withhold foreign intelligence powers if Trump did not name a new director of national intelligence, Al Jazeera and AP reported. Because Pulte was designated only as acting director, he could have remained in the job for 210 days after taking office without going through Senate confirmation.
Clayton’s nomination will need a majority vote in the Senate. Republicans hold 53 of the chamber’s 100 seats, according to Al Jazeera and AP.
Office faced staff-cut directive
The announcement also follows Trump’s public instruction to Pulte to reduce staffing at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. In a Truth Social post one day before the Clayton announcement, Trump told Pulte to cut staff at the office, Al Jazeera and AP reported.
The director of national intelligence oversees coordination across the US intelligence community. The office works with agencies that include the CIA and NSA, according to Al Jazeera and AP.
Gabbard, a former Democrat, endorsed Trump before the 2024 election and later served as his top intelligence official. She said last month that she was leaving the post because of her husband’s cancer treatment, Al Jazeera and AP reported.
Al Jazeera and AP reported that Gabbard had initially supported Trump because of his stated anti-interventionist positions. She remained a public backer of the president even as the US abduction of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and the war with Iran appeared to conflict with her own political views, according to the report.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.