June 12, 2026
President Donald Trump on Thursday nominated Jay Clayton, the top US attorney for Manhattan, to be the next US spy chief, amid a political firestorm over a fierce loyalist Trump had picked to fill the role temporarily.
The decision, however, appeared unlikely to end a refusal by Democrats to provide the votes needed to renew a key foreign surveillance program that expires on Friday unless Trump withdraws Bill Pulte as acting intelligence chief. Pulte is loyal to Trump but has no national security experience.
"Pulte has to go. He cannot be in the DNI role. Our national security is too important," US Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the chamber's Democratic leader, told reporters, using the acronym for the director of national intelligence.
Trump announced his choice for permanent DNI in a Truth Social post in which he urged quick Senate confirmation of Clayton to replace Tulsi Gabbard as overseer of the 18 US intelligence agencies.
