The US Senate on Tuesday confirmed Jay Clayton as director of national intelligence at a time when President Donald Trump has begun repeating his false claims about the 2020 election, which he lost.
The 51–47 vote in the Senate was along party lines, with Republicans supporting the appointment and Democrats voting against it.
After the vote, Trump praised Clayton, posting on Truth Social: “Jay is excellent in every way, and will do a fantastic job as Director!”
Clayton insists he is not an ‘election denier’
Clayton will now lead 18 intelligence agencies, including the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which are grappling with leadership turmoil and staffing cuts.
He is the former Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Democrats opposed Clayton’s nomination because he repeatedly refused to say during his confirmation hearing that Joe Biden had won the 2020 presidential election, saying only that the result had been “certified.”
“I’m not going to deny the election,” Clayton said without directly answering the question.
Trump renews voter fraud claims
Clayton replaced Tulsi Gabbard, who resigned in June and Trump temporarily installed Bill Pulte as acting intelligence chief.
Pulte, a Trump loyalist who has no national security experience, oversaw a tumultuous tenure with a nearly 30% staff cut and the release of 2020 intelligence documents detailing China’s ability to interfere in American politics and weaknesses in the election system.
Trump has recently again repeated false claims about the 2020 election, leading to scrutiny of the administration’s handling of intelligence agencies ahead of the US midterm elections.
Democratic Senator Adam Schiff of California told CNN that Clayton’s refusal to explicitly say that Biden won the 2020 election “suggests that if the President [Trump] Wants the intelligence agencies to fabricate something to justify voter interference in the midterm elections, so that Jay Clayton has no power to stand up to him.”
Edited by: Rana Taha
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