The Senate moved unusually fast to schedule the confirmation hearing for President Donald Trump’s new nominee for the director of national intelligence.
Trump nominated Jay Clayton to permanently serve in the role after Democrats rebuked the temporary nomination of Director of U.S. Federal Housing Bill Pulte. The Senate scheduled Clayton’s confirmation hearing for Wednesday, reflecting the political pressure on the chamber as they are fighting to pass the extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which expires Friday at midnight.
Many lawmakers opposed Pulte’s nomination due to his lack of national security experience and were concerned he would use the position to target his political opponents, jeopardizing further action from lawmakers on key pieces of legislation.
The House failed to pass a temporary extension of Section 702 in a 198 to 218 vote, with 19 Republicans joining most Democrats in voting against it. If it had passed, Section 702 — which allows the federal government to surveil foreign targets without a warrant —would have been extended to July 2 as lawmakers debated a longterm extension. While expressly intended to be used against foreigners, the section has been invoked to surveil American citizens’ communications.
On average, it has taken multiple months for the U.S. Senate to confirm cabinet level nominees during the past several presidential administrations, according to the Center for Presidential Transition.
Clayton started his legal career as a law clerk at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in 1993, according to his Justice Department (DOJ) biography. He joined the global law firm Sullivan & Cromwell in 1995, where he worked as an associate and then a partner.
Trump nominated Clayton to serve as SEC chairman in January 2017, a role he served in until December 2020. While Clayton was chairman, the SEC “brought more than 2,300 enforcement actions, often in close coordination with criminal authorities, resulting in more than $10 billion in fines and disgorgement and over $3 billion returned to harmed investors,” according to the agency’s webpage.
Clayton has overseen some of the most high-profile criminal prosecutions in the U.S., among them being the drug trafficking case against former Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, who was captured by U.S. forces in January. He is also the former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. In November, then-Attorney General Pam Bondi said Clayton would investigate sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s ties to prominent Democrats.
Lawmakers largely praised Clayton, with Senate Majority Leader John Thune telling the Daily Caller News Foundation that Clayton is “very capable and competent.”
“I think he’s a really good pick. He’s obviously very capable and competent and [has] a great record. So, my assumption is, and I would certainly hope that Democrats who are being objective about it are going to come to the same conclusion,” Thune said Thursday.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer appeared to have nothing negative to say about Clayton, and instead lamented the temporary nomination of Pulte.
“Pulte has got to go,” Schumer told reporters. “The DNI role is too important for him to be there. He has got to go, period. No matter what else they do.”
When the DCNF asked if he supported Clayton, Schumer said, “I support getting rid of Pulte. That is unequivocal.”
Democratic California Sen. Alex Padilla told the DCNF that he is “deeply concerned” about Clayton’s nomination.
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