The Senate confirmed U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton Tuesday to serve as the next director of national intelligence (DNI), which may revive the reauthorization of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
The upper chamber voted to confirm Clayton, making him the permanent replacement for former DNI Tulsi Gabbard. Republican senators initially planned to accelerate Clayton’s confirmation process after Congress failed to reauthorize Section 702, though President Donald Trump requested that the process be delayed to confirm another attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Clayton’s confirmation may allow the Senate to vote on reauthorizing Section 702. Democrats would likely back its reauthorization since U.S. Federal Housing Director Bill Pulte would no longer be serving as acting DNI.
Senators moved at an unusual speed to confirm Clayton as they faced pressure to reauthorize Section 702, which permits the government to collect Americans’ data without a warrant. The House failed to pass a temporary extension of Section 702 in a 198 to 218 vote on June 11, with 19 Republicans joining most Democrats in voting against it.
Democrats opposed the reauthorization of Section 702 as retaliation against Trump tapping Pulte to temporarily serve as acting DNI.
Trump requested on June 17 that the Senate postpone Clayton’s confirmation until Jamie McDonald was approved to be the next attorney for the Southern District of New York. Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton initially planned to move forward with the confirmation process on June 17, but then postponed the hearing.
“It’s regrettable that the president has directed Jay Clayton not to appear at his confirmation hearing today,” Cotton said at the time. “Mr. Clayton is a patriot and a highly qualified nominee, as the president has said repeatedly. While today’s hearing is now unfortunately postponed, I look forward to proceeding with his confirmation in the near future.”
In the same statement, Trump threatened to oppose the reauthorization of Section 702 unless the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act was attached to it. .
Senators voted to advance Clayton’s nomination in a 51 to 43 vote Monday. Senate Democrats became frustrated with Clayton during his confirmation hearing after he refused to say outright that former President Joe Biden won the 2020 election. Democratic Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told “Face the Nation” Sunday that he would vote against Clayton’s confirmation because he was “bitterly disappointed” in his performance.
Clayton said during the July 15 hearing that there was more to learn about China’s cover-up of the COVID-19 pandemic. He argued the intelligence community possibly needed to release more records about the concealment of the virus.
However, Democrats stated that Clayton was more qualified than Pulte to serve in the role.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune told the Daily Caller News Foundation in June that Clayton was a “really good pick.”
“I think he’s a really good pick. He’s obviously very capable and competent and [has] a great record. So, my assumption is, and I would certainly hope, that Democrats who are being objective about it are going to come to the same conclusion,” Thune said on June 11.
Cotton praised Clayton’s experience in prosecuting threats to national security.
“As U.S. Attorney, Jay Clayton has worked hand in glove with our intelligence agencies and counterterrorism personnel to lock up criminals who threaten our national security. I encourage my colleagues to join me and get Mr. Clayton’s nomination over the finish line,” Cotton said on July 15.
Clayton’s legal career began in 1993 when he served as a law clerk at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, according to his Justice Department biography. He joined the global law firm Sullivan & Cromwell in 1995, where he worked as an associate and then a partner. While there, he co-headed the firm’s Corporate Practice and served on its Management Committee.
Trump nominated Clayton to serve as Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman in January 2017, a role he served in until December 2020. While Clayton was chairman, the SEC “brought more than 2,300 enforcement actions, often in close coordination with criminal authorities, resulting in more than $10 billion in fines and disgorgement and over $3 billion returned to harmed investors,” according to the agency’s webpage.
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