According to recent reports from CBS and other US media outlets, the US Senate voted 51 to 47 on July 28 to confirm Jay Clayton as the new Director of National Intelligence. It was a tight vote, with all but a few sticking to party lines.
Jay Clayton, seen here in a file photo from US media, is now stepping into a high-stakes role.
This confirmation fills a vacancy left by Tulsi Gabbard, who resigned on May 22 to care for her husband battling cancer, officially stepping down on June 30. Before Clayton, Trump had appointed Brian P. Brooks as acting DNI—but Brooks, who also serves as head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and chairs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, had zero national security or intelligence experience. That raised eyebrows from both parties. Some senators even warned that if Brooks were formally nominated, the Senate would likely never approve him.
So, on June 11, Trump turned to Clayton—the former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission chair and former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York—to take the reins of the intelligence community.