Senate confirms Clayton as new director of intelligence
The Senate confirmed Jay Clayton as the new Director of National Intelligence in a 51-47 party-line vote. The confirmation follows recent internal turmoil at the agency, including significant workforce reductions and concerns from Democrats regarding the politicization of intelligence.
Why it matters
The confirmation highlights deep partisan divisions regarding the independence of U.S. intelligence agencies and the influence of the executive branch over national security.
WASHINGTON — The Senate approved President Donald Trump’s choice to oversee the country’s spy agencies, with the Republican majority voting Tuesday to install top federal prosecutor Jay Clayton as the next director of national intelligence. Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan, will inherit a much smaller agency after his predecessors cut the office’s workforce in a series of firings in recent weeks and months. And his confirmation follows accusations from Democratic lawmakers and former national security officials that the Trump White House has tried to use the intelligence agencies to wage partisan political warfare. The vote was 51-47 along party lines. After Clayton was confirmed, Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., the Intelligence Committee’s vice chairman, explained why he voted against the nomination in a statement and expressed hope that Clayton would not cave to possible political pressure from the White House.
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