President Donald Trump said Thursday that he will nominate Jay Clayton as director of national intelligence, hours after objections by House Democrats to Trump’s incoming acting DNI, Bill Pulte ensured that a key national security tool will expire this week.
Clayton is currently the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and is the former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. He will have to be confirmed as DNI by the Senate.
Trump’s surprise announcement comes after more than a week over controversy over his appointment of Pulte, who is a top federal housing official, to replace current DNI Tulsi Gabbard in an acting role when she leaves that post.
Trump said Wednesday that Pulte would assume that role on June 19 as he looked for a permanent DNI.
Jay Clayton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, speaks during a press conference in New York City, U.S., December 10, 2025.
Jeenah Moon | Reuters
The DNI oversees the broad U.S. intelligence community, which includes the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency.
Hours before Trump’s announcement, the House of Representatives rejected a proposal to extend Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act past Friday because Democrats refused to back the measure due to Trump’s choice of Pulte.
Trump called Clayton “very Highly respected” in a Truth Social post announcing the nomination.
“Few people anywhere in the Legal Community are respected at the level of Jay,” Trump wrote.
“I encourage the United States Senate to confirm Jay as soon as possible.”
This is breaking news. Please refresh for updates.
