US Senate confirms Jay Clayton as intelligence chief after Pulte controversy

Washington,UPDATED: Jul 29, 2026 05:38 IST

The US Senate on Tuesday confirmed Jay Clayton as Director of Intelligence, giving the country’s intelligence agencies a permanent chief after weeks of uncertainty. Clayton, the US attorney for the Southern District of New York and a former Securities and Exchange Commission chairman, was confirmed 51-47 along party lines.

Republicans had hoped to confirm Clayton in June, but President Donald Trump delayed his hearing so that his temporary choice, Bill Pulte, could lead the office for several weeks after former director Tulsi Gabbard resigned. Clayton’s confirmation comes amid concerns from Democrats about both Pulte and Clayton, and as Trump has again focused on his false claims about the 2020 election.

Senators from both parties had raised concerns about Pulte, a former housing regulator with no intelligence experience. He was leading the office when Trump delivered a White House speech earlier this month in which he repeated his false claims about the 2020 election, which he lost, and released classified documents that he said supported his arguments.

Pulte has also said he oversaw a downsizing of the Office of the Director of Intelligence, which acts as a coordinating hub for US intelligence agencies. He said on social media that, after the latest round of cuts, the office had reduced its staff by about 30 per cent from weeks earlier. He did not provide details, making it difficult to immediately verify the scale of the reductions.

Democrats also voiced concern about Clayton after a contentious confirmation hearing two weeks ago, when he repeatedly declined to say that former President Joe Biden won the 2020 election. Clayton said only that the election was “certified” for Biden. Virginia Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee, said he was “bitterly disappointed” in Clayton after having initially praised the nomination. Warner said he would oppose Clayton, but added that Democrats were “between a rock and a hard place” with Pulte in the job.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Clayton’s performance at the hearing was “abysmal” and that it made Democratic support less likely. Hours before the Senate vote, Pulte released intelligence community documents from 2020 that described China’s ability to interfere in the American political process and vulnerabilities in the election system. The material was largely recycled and already known, but its release was part of the broader Trump administration effort to raise concerns about the integrity of US elections.

At his hearing, Clayton did not mention Pulte, but stressed his own government and national security experience in an effort to reassure senators from both parties. “I saw firsthand how a strong national security apparatus depends on decisive judgment, discipline, integrity, and effective communication and cooperation across different branches of the government,” Clayton said. “If confirmed as Director of Intelligence, I will commit to upholding these principles every day.” He also told senators that he had no role in Trump’s speech about the 2020 election.

Senate Intelligence Committee chairman Tom Cotton, a Republican from Arkansas, said Clayton had a reputation for “morality, decency and integrity” in his previous roles. “Jay Clayton is a highly qualified nominee with a deep experience combating a wide range of national security threats,” Cotton said.

Clayton’s confirmation puts a permanent director in charge of the US intelligence community after a delayed process shaped by concerns over Pulte’s interim tenure, the downsizing of the office and renewed political arguments over the 2020 election.

With PTI Inputs

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