Published Jun 12, 2026, 11:38 AM EDT
The announcement comes amid furious backlash towards interim DNI Bill Pulte, who lacks any intelligence experience and comes from the housing sector.
Follow
Published Jun 12, 2026, 11:38 AM EDT
Following widespread criticism about interim Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Bill Pulte taking over the reins, President Donald Trump has announced a new person to take the helm: Jay Clayton. It presents a stark shift from what the president indicated just 10 days ago, when he announced via a Truth Social post that the 38-year-old Pulte—currently the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and chair of Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac—would fill the vacancy left by the outgoing director, Tulsi Gabbard, who has publicly stated that her husband's bone cancer diagnosis has impacted her abilities to properly oversee 18 intel agencies. Clayton currently plays a major litigation role as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, a role he's had since 2025 since taking over for the interim U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon after she resigned due to refusing to carry out Department of Justice (DOJ) orders corruption charges against former New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Clayton oversees arguably the most critical DOJ prosecution office in Manhattan, prosecuting cases across a broad spectrum that includes corruption, espionage, fraud and terrorism. Previously, Clayton served from 2017 to 2020 as the chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission. He has a bachelor's degree in engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Cambridge, and a Juris Doctor from Penn's law school. For two years in the 1990s, Clayton clerked for Marvin Katz of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and then worked for the New York City-based law firm Sullivan & Cromwell for more than 20 years. In a Truth Social announcement on Thursday, Trump said that "few people anywhere in the Legal Community are respected at the level of Jay,” adding that he encourages the GOP-controlled U.S. Senate “to confirm Jay as soon as possible.”
