Trump's new spy chief confirmed by US Senate

What the report says

BBC World News reported that the US Senate has confirmed Jay Clayton as director of national intelligence, approving President Donald Trump’s revised choice for the post by a 51-47 vote on Tuesday. Clayton replaces acting DNI Bill Pulte, whose selection had drawn objections from lawmakers because he was a housing official without an intelligence background.

Clayton had most recently served as US attorney for the Southern District of New York, where the BBC said he oversaw high-profile matters including a drug-trafficking case involving former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro. He is also a former securities regulator and federal prosecutor. Trump praised the confirmation on Truth Social, while the report said Pulte had temporarily taken over after Tulsi Gabbard left the role last month.

The nomination followed bipartisan concern over Pulte’s brief tenure, including his actions as a federal housing regulator and staffing cuts. Democrats initially viewed Clayton as a more conventional alternative, but some raised concerns after his confirmation hearing. Senator Mark Warner, the Democratic vice-chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said he had reservations about whether Clayton would resist political pressure, while saying he hoped those concerns would prove unfounded.

The confirmation matters because the DNI oversees the US intelligence community and because it may affect stalled congressional talks over Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The BBC reported that Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican, said Clayton’s appointment should encourage lawmakers to stop blocking Fisa reauthorisation, a surveillance authority Trump wants renewed for the long term.