President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he is tapping Jay Clayton, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, to serve as the next Director of National Intelligence. The move ends weeks of uncertainty at the intelligence agency's helm following Trump's appointment of Bill Pulte as acting director.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump praised Clayton as a legal heavyweight, writing, “Few people anywhere in the Legal Community are respected at the level of Jay.” He urged the Senate to move swiftly on confirmation, saying, “I encourage the United States Senate to confirm Jay as soon as possible.”
Clayton, a registered independent, has held the SDNY post since August 2025, a position legal experts describe as the most powerful in the Justice Department. Trump nominated him shortly after winning the 2024 election, calling him “a strong Fighter for the Truth.” The office's most high-profile action under Clayton was the January indictment and prosecution of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on narco-terrorism charges.
Born in West Virginia, Clayton began his legal career as a law clerk to Judge Marvin Katz in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania from 1993 to 1995. He then spent more than two decades at Sullivan & Cromwell, rising from associate to partner before entering public service.
Trump first tapped Clayton for the top securities regulator role on Inauguration Day 2017. Clayton pledged to recuse himself from matters involving his former clients, including Barclays, Royal Bank of Canada, and Deutsche Bank. The Office of Government Ethics cleared him of conflicts, and the Senate confirmed him 61-37 in May 2017. Then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell praised his “leadership at this agency,” while Democrats like Elizabeth Warren opposed him over his Wall Street ties.
During his SEC tenure, Clayton testified frequently on market integrity, digital asset regulation, cybersecurity, retail investor protections, COVID-19 responses, and U.S.-China economic ties. In June 2020, Trump announced plans to nominate Clayton as SDNY U.S. Attorney after firing Geoffrey Berman, but Clayton later stepped aside, and Audrey Strauss took over. He returned to Sullivan & Cromwell and took senior roles at Apollo Global Management and American Express.
Clayton has also taught at the University of Pennsylvania's Carey Law School and Wharton School, and co-chaired the university's Institute for Law and Economics from 2022 to 2025. His nomination comes amid broader political battles, including a Democratic blockade of FISA 702 extension tied to Trump's DNI pick.
