Trump taps Jay Clayton as new DNI, too late to salvage FISA vote

By Thérèse Boudreaux
The Center Square

In a move meant to pacify congressional Democrats and unstick Republican policy priorities, President Donald Trump has named U.S. attorney Jay Clayton as the next Director of National Intelligence.

The pick follows Trump’s controversial decision last week to temporarily fill the position of DNI with Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte, who has no apparent national security or intelligence experience but is staunchly loyal to the president.

While Clayton’s career has focused largely on financial security rather than national security, he still faces far less pushback from lawmakers than Pulte did.

Clayton chaired the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from 2017 to 2020. He became chairman of private equity firm Apollo Global Management in March 2021 and resigned in 2025 to serve as U.S. Attorney for the southern district of New York.

“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,” Trump said in his social media announcement.

But Trump’s olive branch arrived too late to salvage Republican congressional leaders’ last-ditch attempts to prevent Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act from expiring Friday night.

All but seven House Democrats voted against a three-week extension of FISA Section 702. Since 19 privacy-wary House Republicans also opposed the extension, it failed 198-218, and both chambers of Congress left town.

Democrats had warned they would refuse to extend the federal government’s authority to conduct mass electronic surveillance unless Trump removed Pulte from his new position.

Had Trump nominated Clayton as the incoming DNI before the House voted, the outcome could have been different.

Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Mark Warner, D-Va., – who, notably, called Clayton “a capable public servant” – questioned Trump’s timing in a statement released after the House vote.

“[I]f the president intended to nominate Mr. Clayton, why spend the last ten days insisting that the Intelligence Community be led by an acting director who lacks the extensive national security experience required by statute and whose appointment raises serious concerns about the politicization of intelligence?” Warner asked.

“The president could have put forward a qualified nominee from the beginning. Instead, he waited until the House of Representatives went out of town, choosing a path that raises the risk of an entirely avoidable lapse in a critical national security tool.”

A lapse in FISA Section 702 authorization doesn’t necessarily jeopardize national security, since the FISA Court approved a year-long certification in March. Even without congressional reauthorization, intelligence agencies can still legally collect the metadata of foreign nationals without a warrant until March 2027.

But a lapse might cause confusion for communications providers or potentially slow federal surveillance operations, even as millions of international travelers enter the U.S. over the next few days to attend the 2026 World Cup tournament.

Regardless, Warner and Democratic leaders still hold that Pulte’s immediate removal is “non-negotiable” if Republicans want to reauthorize FISA Section 702.

“[L]et me be clear – while I am glad to see the president finally come to his senses, before the Senate can take up a FISA extension there needs to be a clear guarantee that Mr. Pulte will not serve as acting DNI,” Warner stated. “Either Director [Tulsi] Gabbard must remain in place or the administration must designate the Senate-confirmed Principal Deputy DNI as the acting head through any transition.”

The DNI serves as principal advisor to the president on intelligence issues, overseeing the entire 18-agency U.S. Intelligence Community with its $81.9 billion intelligence budget.

Senate Republicans who had remained silent or noncommittal on Pulte’s appointment praised Trump’s selection of Clayton and pledged to swiftly advance his confirmation in the Senate.

Republican Conference Vice Chair Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., called Clayton “a great pick” who is “smart, ethical, experienced in national security, and he has a tenacious work ethic.”

“He has handled some of the toughest international cases, and he knows well the threats our nation faces each day,” Lankford said on social media. “His background as the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission has also given him the executive experience needed to lead an agency in desperate need of reorganization.”