Senate sets June 17 hearing for Trump intelligence pick Jay Clayton

The Senate Intelligence Committee will put Jay Clayton on the hot seat Wednesday at 2 p.m. in Dirksen G50, opening a confirmation fight that now reaches far beyond one nominee. The hearing will test whether President Trump wants an intelligence chief known for independence, political loyalty or some blend of the two.

Clayton, now the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and a former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, is being moved through the Senate on a fast track. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the chamber would try to advance the nomination “as quickly as possible,” and committee leaders have already scheduled a business meeting for Thursday after the hearing.

For Clayton, the résumé argument is straightforward. Trump nominated him before, and the Senate confirmed him 61-37 to lead the SEC in 2017. That prior vote is likely to matter as senators weigh whether Clayton has the background to lead a post that sits at the center of the nation’s classified decision-making.

The director of national intelligence oversees and coordinates the work of 18 intelligence agencies and serves as the president’s principal intelligence adviser. That makes the post far more than a ceremonial confirmation. Whoever wins the job helps shape how intelligence reaches the Oval Office, how agencies are managed and how classified programs are judged in real time.

The hearing is also colliding with a separate fight over surveillance authority. Democrats, led by Sen. Mark Warner, have said they will not support an extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act while Bill Pulte is serving as acting DNI. Warner said he hopes the Senate can confirm Clayton this week and then move quickly to reauthorize FISA, but he also argued the administration should have put forward a qualified nominee sooner.

Warner has said the administration should guarantee that Pulte will not serve as acting DNI before senators take up FISA again. He also said Clayton has the “right temperament” for the job, even as he warned that the delay created an avoidable lapse in a critical national security tool.

Sen. Tom Cotton, who chairs the Intelligence Committee, called Clayton “an excellent choice” and said the committee would move the nomination quickly. The tight schedule leaves little room for delay, and the result will signal how much independence the Trump administration is willing to tolerate at the top of the intelligence community.