Clayton expected to win Senate confirmation despite Democratic opposition

Mark Warner said he will not vote to confirm Jay Clayton as director of national intelligence, even as he expects the nominee to win Senate approval because Republicans control the chamber. Warner, the Senate Intelligence Committee’s vice chairman, said he has known and respected Clayton for many years and believes he is a capable public servant.

Warner’s objection centers on the office Clayton would hold. He said the director of national intelligence is “one of the most important national security jobs in government” and should not be treated casually, a formulation that places the fight less around Clayton’s personal qualifications than around the seriousness and independence of the post itself. Warner also said he hopes the Senate can confirm Clayton, but added that he will not support him.

The confirmation battle has been complicated by politics far beyond the intelligence committee. President Donald Trump delayed Clayton’s nomination in an effort to pressure Congress to act on a voter ID bill, tying the intelligence post to a separate fight over election policy. Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton said the hearing had been postponed after Trump directed Clayton not to appear.

Clayton eventually appeared before the Senate Intelligence Committee in Washington, where Democrats were expected to question him about the 2020 election and other issues. The hearing underscored how a nomination to lead the U.S. intelligence community has become entangled in partisan disputes over elections, national security staffing and the balance of power between the White House and the Senate.

Even so, the arithmetic in the chamber points the other way. Warner said he expects Clayton to be confirmed because Republicans control the Senate, leaving his no vote as a warning about oversight rather than a likely obstacle to the nomination itself.