Senate intel advances Clayton nomination for DNI

The Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday advanced the nomination of Jay Clayton to lead the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI).

The 9-8 vote clears the way for Clayton to be considered by the full Senate and take over a role being held on an acting basis by a controversial figure, Bill Pulte. 

“Jay Clayton is a highly qualified nominee with a deep experience combatting a wide range of national security threats. I’m pleased that the Senate Intelligence Committee voted to advance his nomination to be Director of National Intelligence,” Chair Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) said following the closed door meeting. 

“Once confirmed, I look forward to working with Mr. Clayton to keep Americans safe and continue reforming the Office of Director of National Intelligence.”

Clayton serves as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and under the first Trump administration was also commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Though initially praised by Democrats, the vote total suggests a party line vote after the minority hammered Clayton on his position on the 2020 election, a line of inquiry that comes after the prior director of national intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard was present for a search of the Fulton County, Georgia election offices.

“I know Jay. I like Jay. I was disappointed,” Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), the top Democrat on the panel, said Tuesday during an appearance on MSNOW’s “Morning Joe.”

“My hope is that the Jay Clayton I know, if he ends up being DNI, will take that job and bring some grit back to it because I think we’ve still got a president that wants to interfere in our elections. Because this president knows if we have free and fair elections this year, he and his allies are going to get slapped down in record – I think in a record way because his policies are so terribly unpopular.”

Clayton during his confirmation hearing Wednesday repeatedly said former President Biden “was certified” as president.

“I’m not an election denier,” Clayton had said. 

“You refuse to answer a basic question about who won a presidential election, but you ask to lead America’s intelligence community,” Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) said in one exchange. 

“Isn’t it humiliating to be unable to answer this question, to have to indulge the president’s delusions?”

Rep. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said Clayton’s responses to those questions as well as questions over subpoenas recently sent to New York Times reporters by the U.S. attorney office he now leads cost his support.

“Mr. Clayton refused to tell the truth about the 2020 election because Donald Trump would not let him. He spread conspiracies about mail-in-voting and then hid behind the excuse that he was just asking questions,” Wyden said in a statement.

“Finally, there are credible allegations that he provided false testimony to the committee during his hearing about intimidation subpoenas sent about New York Times reporting. His claims to have ‘followed the processes’ in issuing those subpoenas do not fit the facts laid out in the Times’ motions to quash those demands, which suggest that the DOJ repeatedly violated its own regulations in issuing its subpoenas,” he said.

“From start to finish, Mr. Clayton has proven himself incapable of telling the truth or demonstrating an iota of independence from Donald Trump.”

If confirmed, Clayton’s confirmation is expected to address two concerns linked by Democrats: removing Pulte from his perch leading ODNI and clearing the way for the Senate to renew the nation’s lapsed warrantless spy powers.

Pulte, who remains head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), has used that role to forward referrals for criminal charges against four different foes of President Trump. He also has no national security experience, prompting Democrats and Republicans alike to argue he was unqualified for the job.

In protest, Democrats refused to back a bill Warner helped negotiate to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which allows the government to spy on foreigners located abroad.

The powers expired on June 12, leading to an unprecedented expiration of the authorities.

Clayton’s confirmation, however, would leave little time for Congress to act to advance a Section 702 bill. While the Senate will work through early August, the House leaves for its recess at the end of this week.

Updated at 4:51 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.