President Donald Trump announced he’s picked Jay Clayton as his nominee for Director of National Intelligence after his decision to name Bill Pulte acting DNI was met with widespread criticism.
Trump’s announcement on Truth Social came just hours after the House failed to pass a temporary extension of the key spying law with Democrats demanding that the president pull his plan for Pulte to serve in the role before coming back to the table for talks.
“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 on Truth Social.
“Few people anywhere in the Legal Community are respected at the level of Jay. I encourage the United States Senate to confirm Jay as soon as possible,” he added.
Clayton has been serving as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York since April 2025. He also served as chairman of the SEC during Trump’s first term.
But just days ago, Clayton appeared on CNBC, where he cast doubts on voting in the U.S. when asked about conspiracy theories and said when it comes to election integrity, the U.S. is doing an “absolutely terrible job” and the American people are “right to question it.”
When CNBC hosts pushed back, citing California’s election laws when it comes to counting ballots, as Trump has been claiming without proof that the primary in California was “rigged” Clayton countered that there was an “opportunity for fraud.”
Eventually, he admitted there was no clear proof of fraud in California, but he insisted that the way the elections in the state are held “makes the opportunity for fraud so much greater.”
Trump’s post came just over a week after he named his housing director, Bill Pulte, to replace Tulsi Gabbard as acting DNI.
But the move was met with bipartisan criticism as Pulte, grandson of construction giant William Pulte, has no national security, intelligence or law enforcement experience.
What Pulte had shown since joining the administration is a willingness to go after the president’s perceived political foes as a diehard Trump loyalist.
As the backlash escalated, Trump quickly began to backpedal on Pulte, claiming he would serve in the role only temporarily while he searched for a qualified replacement.
It was immediately clear that Pulte would not receive the necessary votes to be confirmed to the position in the Senate, with even Republicans raising concerns and noting that the position, by law, requires experience. However, Trump refused to pull his name as acting DNI altogether.
On Wednesday, Trump claimed Pulte would resume the role on June 19, where he would be tasked with “downsizing” the office while Trump sought an experienced nominee.
In that same post, the president urged Congress to pass a short-term extension of the controversial FISA Section 702, which is set to expire on Friday, and accused Democrats of playing politics over the demand to pull Pulte’s name.
But the House on Thursday rejected the president’s urging and failed to pass the extension, with 19 Democrats joining most Democrats against the measure in a 198-218 vote.
After the vote failed, House Speaker Mike Johnson dismissed questions on Thursday over whether the president should have backtracked on installing Pulte as DNI to help get the bill across the finish line and insisted he would only be serving temporarily.
Johnson also said the president was quickly closing in on choosing his nominee to permanently replace Gabbard.
