President Donald Trump has nominated Jay Clayton, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, to serve as the next Director of National Intelligence, seeking to replace Tulsi Gabbard at the helm of America’s eighteen intelligence agencies. The announcement, made via Truth Social, came as Trump faced a mounting political crisis over his decision to install Bill Pulte, a real estate investor and staunch loyalist with no national security background, as acting DNI. Democrats have seized on the controversy, threatening to block the renewal of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act unless Pulte is removed. The program, which allows intelligence agencies to collect communications of foreigners abroad without warrants, expires on Friday, and both houses of Congress have already rejected short term extensions that Trump requested.
Clayton’s nomination represents a pivot toward a more conventional choice, though one that still raises eyebrows given his thin intelligence credentials. A former mergers and capital raising lawyer at Sullivan & Cromwell, Clayton served as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission during Trump’s first term, where he developed a reputation as a political moderate who sought consensus with Democratic commissioners. In April 2025, Trump appointed him interim U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, one of the most powerful prosecutorial posts in the country. His official biography shows no intelligence background and lacks the extensive national security experience that the law creating the DNI position after the September 11 attacks intended to require. According to a person familiar with the matter, CIA Director John Ratcliffe recommended Clayton to Trump after the president asked who should take over from Gabbard.
The Senate Intelligence Committee has scheduled Clayton’s confirmation hearing for next Wednesday, but his nomination does little to resolve the immediate standoff over Pulte. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer has declared that “Pulte has to go,” calling the arrangement a threat to national security. Democrats and some Republicans have expressed alarm that Pulte could weaponize classified intelligence to attack Trump’s political foes, citing his earlier use of confidential mortgage data to push fraud probes against New York Attorney General Letitia James and Senator Adam Schiff. Trump himself fueled those concerns last week when he said Pulte “may find out some things about the rigged elections.” Democrats also worry that Pulte could use the DNI post to pursue Trump’s discredited claims of 2020 election fraud. With Republicans holding a 53-47 Senate majority, at least seven Democratic votes are needed to reach the 60-vote threshold for FISA renewal, giving the opposition significant leverage. Until Clayton is confirmed, Pulte will remain in the acting role while continuing to oversee personnel cuts that Trump has demanded across the intelligence community.
