FILE-Jay Clayton appears before the Senate Intelligence Committee during his nomination hearing on Capitol Hill July 15, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Aaron Schwartz/Getty Images)
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WASHINGTON – The Senate confirmed Jay Clayton on Tuesday to lead the nation’s intelligence agencies.
The Senate voted 51-43 on Monday to advance Clayton’s nomination.
RELATED: Trump nominates Jay Clayton to serve as Director of National Intelligence
Democrats’ pushback on Clayton comes as President Donald Trump has made revisiting 2020 a primary focus, repeatedly trying to contest that election and amplifying debunked theories about President Joe Biden’s win.
According to the AP, Clayton told senators that he was not involved with Trump’s primetime speech, but he said that the election was “certified” for Biden, refusing to say that Biden won.
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Who is Jay Clayton?
The backstory:
Jay Clayton is known for serving as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission during President Donald Trump’s first administration, where he supervised financial market regulation and enforcement matters.
More recently, Clayton served as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, one of the nation’s most prominent federal prosecutorial offices.
Republicans were hoping to confirm Clayton in June so he could replace Tulsi Gabbard without Bill Pulte serving as the interim director of national intelligence. However, Trump delayed Clayton’s nomination before the Senate left for a two-week recess, allowing Pulte to serve in the role temporarily.
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