Trump says he will nominate Jay Clayton to top intelligence post amid uproar over prior, interim pick

President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he will nominate Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, to be director of national intelligence.

Trump’s announcement came after House Democrats’ objections to the incoming acting director, Bill Pulte, helped ensure a key national security tool would expire this week, and the House voted 198-218 against extending Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

Al Jazeera

Trump said he will have to be confirmed as director of national intelligence by the Senate, and he urged lawmakers to act quickly in a Truth Social post that called Clayton "very Highly respected".

NBC News reported that CIA Director John Ratcliffe recommended to Trump that Clayton serve as director of national intelligence, after Trump asked Ratcliffe for suggestions once Pulte was named acting DNI.

The nomination is set to succeed outgoing DNI Tulsi Gabbard, whose resignation will take effect next week, while Trump said Pulte would assume the acting role on June 19.

Sen. Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat and vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said he has "great respect for Jay Clayton" but questioned why Trump delayed naming Clayton after the House vote.

Warner said, "Why he waited until after the House broke, I have no idea," and he added that if there was "any level of serious concern" in the White House, "the House has already left town," according to CNBC.

Boston Herald

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., echoed Warner’s timing critique by calling the selection of Clayton "seemingly a positive step," but said, "the president's timing couldn't be worse."

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters that it was crucial that Pulte not serve as director of national intelligence, saying, "He cannot be there, no ands, ifs, or buts."

Trump responded to the dispute by saying he asked Pulte "to execute the immediate and needed downsizing of the office, reverting staff to their home agencies," as the House left Washington and was not due back at the Capitol until June 23.

The nomination is entangled with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act’s Section 702, after the House rejected a proposal to extend it beyond Friday and House members left Washington after the 198-218 vote.

“Washington — President Trump on Thursday announced he's nominating Jay Clayton, the current U”

CBS News

NBC News said the House’s failure to pass a short-term extension of FISA was tied to Democrats refusing to back the measure if Pulte was overseeing Section 702, which allows the federal government to surveil foreign nationals living abroad without obtaining warrants.

USA Today warned that the statute is now set to expire after many lawmakers left town for the weekend without a deal, and it described Section 702 as permitting the U.S. government to collect the communications of foreigners.

The Washington Post reported that the Cabinet position oversees and coordinates 18 U.S. intelligence agencies, but does not have a role in spying operations, while Democrats argued the acting DNI pick endangered the renewal of the surveillance authority.

In the same dispute, Trump said Thursday that Pulte would run the role "for a little while" after earlier saying he wants Pulte to downsize the office, while Sen. John Thune said he did not know what realistic is but that the Senate would probe the limits of confirming Clayton before June 19.