President Donald Trump announced on June 11 that he is nominating Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, for the role of director of national intelligence.
The nomination comes the week after Trump tapped Bill Pulte, a businessman with no known national security experience, to serve as acting director of national intelligence.
“I am pleased to announce the nomination of very Highly Respected Jay Clayton, former Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the former Head of Sullivan & Cromwell, one of the most prominent and successful Law Firms anywhere in the World, and the current United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, to be the next Director of National Intelligence and, importantly, to serve in my Cabinet,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
“Few people anywhere in the Legal Community are respected at the level of Jay,” he added.
Clayton previously served as chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission during Trump’s first term.
Earlier this week, Trump announced that Pulte would take over as acting director of national intelligence on June 19, sooner than anticipated.
Pulte is replacing Tulsi Gabbard, who announced her resignation last month. Gabbard said she would serve in the role until June 30.
However, in announcing Clayton’s nomination, Trump encouraged the Senate to confirm him “as soon as possible.”
If confirmed, Clayton would oversee the U.S. intelligence community and serve as the principal intelligence adviser to the president, coordinating activities across the 18 U.S. spy agencies.