Jay Clayton Confirmed As Trump’s New Spy Chief After Uproar From Dems

WASHINGTON — The Senate confirmed Jay Clayton as the new director of national intelligence Tuesday, replacing acting Director Bill Pulte following months of Democratic opposition to both men.

The Senate voted 51 to 47 to confirm Clayton on Tuesday evening, just hours after Pulte announced the latest round of drastic cuts to the agency, his final act before he departed.

“Having known and worked with Jay for years, I was encouraged when he was first nominated for the position of DNI,” Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) said on Tuesday. “Unfortunately, I came away from his confirmation process with serious reservations about whether he would be willing to stand up to political pressure when it matters most.”

“Now that he has been confirmed, I sincerely hope he proves those concerns unfounded, because the Intelligence Community deserves steadier leadership than it has received in recent months,” he added.

United States attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton testifies during his confirmation hearing on July 15, 2026. (Photo by Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Democrats had vociferously protested Pulte as the acting Director of National Intelligence, and initially appeared more receptive to Clayton as the permanent spy czar. Once it came time for his confirmation, however, Clayton received heavy pushback from Senate Democrats, prompting Senate Majority Leader John Thune to accuse them of “playing the same partisan games with this qualified nominee as they have for so many of President Trump’s picks.”

“Democrats were so worked up over the president’s temporary choice for this position, they allowed our nation’s most important counterterrorism tool to go dark for the first time ever,” Thune said on the Senate floor on Monday.

“Now Democrats have the opportunity to replace that acting official,” he added. “But they’re in no apparent rush to confirm a permanent director of national intelligence. They’ve opposed his nomination in committee. They’ve delayed things here on the floor. And I don’t expect we’ll see a lot of Democrat support for him in the final roll call.”