WASHINGTON: The US Senate confirmed Jay Clayton as Donald Trump's top intelligence official Tuesday, putting a permanent chief in charge of the country's spy agencies as the president revives unsupported election fraud claims ahead of the midterms.
Senators voted 51-47 to confirm Clayton's appointment, with all Democrats in the upper chamber voting against it.
"Jay is outstanding in every way, and will do a spectacular job as Director!" Trump said in a post on Truth Social shortly after the vote.
The former securities regulator and federal prosecutor succeeds Tulsi Gabbard, who resigned last month, and inherits an 18-agency intelligence community shaken by leadership turnover and staff cuts.
His appointment comes amid concern that Trump is drawing national security agencies into his effort to relitigate the 2020 election and cast doubt on the integrity of the coming vote.
Earlier this month, Trump used a televised White House address to release declassified intelligence he claimed showed Chinese interference while again falsely asserting that the 2020 election was stolen.
Clayton takes over from acting director of national intelligence Bill Pulte, a Trump loyalist with no relevant experience whose brief tenure alarmed lawmakers in both parties.
Pulte has used his other role as federal housing regulator to refer several of Trump's political opponents for possible prosecution and oversaw sweeping cuts at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
Hours before Clayton's confirmation vote, Pulte boasted that a fifth round of dismissals would bring staffing reductions at the intelligence coordinating body to about 30 percent within weeks.
'Between a rock and a hard place'
Democrats had initially welcomed Clayton as a more conventional alternative to Pulte, but turned sharply against him during his confirmation hearing.
Repeatedly asked whether Democrat Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election, Clayton would say only that Biden had been "certified" as the winner.
"I'm not an election denier," Clayton told senators, without directly answering the question.
Senate Intelligence Committee vice chair Mark Warner said Democrats were caught "between a rock and a hard place" because they preferred Clayton to Pulte but were deeply troubled by his response.
It "suggests that if the president wants the intelligence agencies to cook up something to justify voter interference in the midterm elections, that Jay Clayton doesn't have the backbone to stand up to him," California Democratic Senator Adam Schiff told CNN.
Chuck Schumer, the party's leader in the upper chamber of Congress, called Clayton's hearing performance "abysmal."
Republicans defended Clayton's record as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission during Trump's first term and, more recently, as US attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican, said Clayton's experience fighting financial crime and handling national security cases made him a proven leader at a time of heightened threats.
His confirmation could also help revive negotiations over Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows the US government to collect communications involving foreigners abroad without an individual warrant.
Democrats had resisted renewing the authority while Pulte remained acting intelligence chief, citing fears of administration overreach.
But any extension is unlikely before September because the House of Representatives has already left Washington for its summer recess.
