The Senate voted 51-47 on July 28 to confirm Jay Clayton as director of national intelligence (DNI), giving the Trump administration a permanent leader for the nation’s intelligence community.
Clayton succeeds acting DNI Bill Pulte, who took over following former DNI Tulsi Gabbard’s resignation. His confirmation comes as Congress faces renewed pressure to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and as the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) continues an agencywide restructuring that has reduced staffing through multiple rounds of layoffs.
Clayton most recently served as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. He previously chaired the Securities and Exchange Commission during the first Trump administration.
The confirmation vote was divided strictly along party lines. Senate Democrats raised concerns during the confirmation process, including that Clayton did not state directly that Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election. Instead, he said Biden “was certified” as the winner.
Republicans said Clayton’s confirmation could help restart stalled negotiations to reauthorize Section 702 of FISA after Democrats objected to advancing the legislation while Pulte remained in senior intelligence leadership. It remains unclear whether Democrats will maintain that position following Clayton’s confirmation.
Section 702 of FISA permits the government to conduct surveillance of foreigners located abroad. It expired on June 12 after repeated delays and short-term extensions earlier this year.
Clayton also takes over as ODNI continues an agencywide workforce reduction initiative.
Pulte recently announced the agency had completed four rounds of layoffs since he assumed the acting director role in June.
The layoffs are the latest phase of a restructuring effort that began under Gabbard. In August 2025, she announced the ODNI 2.0 initiative, a plan to reduce the agency’s workforce by nearly 50% by the end of fiscal year 2025. At the time, the agency said it had reduced its workforce by nearly 30%, with more than 500 employees departing since Gabbard took office. It is unclear what that number is today.
The restructuring effort has received support from senior Republicans. During Clayton’s confirmation hearing, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said ODNI has grown into a bloated bureaucracy. Cotton advocated returning the office to what he describes as its original, leaner mission – to unify America’s intelligence community, improve information sharing across agencies.
Democratic lawmakers have acknowledged the agency could benefit from workforce reductions but have criticized how the Trump administration has implemented the cuts. Clayton’s comments during the hearing suggest he would continue similar reduction efforts. He told senators that the ODNI should remain lean, focus on oversight and coordination, and avoid operational responsibilities.