Jay Clayton is set to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday for a hearing to decide whether he will become the next Director of National Intelligence (DNI).
Committee Chair Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican, officially scheduled the hearing for Clayton—the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York who chaired the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) during President Donald Trump’s first administration.
Clayton first received Trump’s nomination to lead the nation’s 18 intelligence agencies in June, but a hearing was abruptly canceled when the president publicly said he wanted Congress to first act on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) in addition to pushing through voter ID legislation as part of the SAVE Act.
He was nominated after interim DNI Bill Pulte was met with widespread criticism over his appointment due, in part, to his lack of experience in the intelligence field. Pulte’s predecessor, Tulsi Gabbard, resigned from the role in May after revealing her husband’s cancer diagnosis.
“Few people anywhere in the Legal Community are respected at the level of Jay,” Trump wrote on Truth Social at the time of Clayton’s nomination. “I encourage the United States Senate to confirm Jay as soon as possible.”
Clayton oversaw the prosecution of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores, on drug trafficking charges.
He was also one of the figures who facilitated the unsealing of thousands of pages of court records from the prosecutions of the late Jeffrey Epstein and his co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell, which has attracted bipartisan support from many lawmakers.
More recently, he’s made headlines by seeking subpoenas against five New York Times reporters, in order that they testify before a federal grand jury in Manhattan this week regarding their reporting on security questions related to the new Qatari-gifted Air Force One.
Legislative Roadblocks
Clayton’s path to office has been met with bureaucratic roadblocks.
His hearing was initially scheduled for June 17, but Trump postponed it. He said Clayton’s nomination should not go ahead until his successor as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, the attorney James McDonald, was confirmed.
Donald Trump gives remarks during a Medal of Honor award ceremony at the White House, Washington, D.C., June 18, 2026. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Matthew Morales)
Trump also cited his frustration with lawmakers who did not immediately renew Section 702 of FISA. In June, the House voted 198-218 and failed to pass a three-week extension of the spy program as it required a two-thirds majority. Three efforts to unanimously pass extensions in the Senate also failed.
Last week, Trump appeared to U-turn on the need for McDonald’s confirmation and told reporters that Clayton’s hearing would take place in two weeks, though he did not specify the date.
Lawmakers’ Reactions
Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), who voted for Clayton to lead the SEC, said appointing Clayton was an “excellent choice” due to his experience, judgment and resolve.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who is leaving Congress at the end of his current term, called the Clayton selection “outstanding.”
“Jay is a proven leader with a distinguished record of public service and sound judgment needed to lead our intelligence community,” Tillis wrote on X.
Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said on X that he has “known and respected” Clayton for decades. If Trump had named him the DNI nominee in the first place rather than Pulte, Himes added, “Lots of pain might have been avoided.”
“His intelligence, temperament and deep commitment to public service will make him a terrific DNI,” Himes said.
After the hearing, committee members will vote on whether to report the nominee favorably, unfavorably, or without recommendation to the full Senate which will, in turn, vote on whether to approve Clayton’s nomination.
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