When Congressional Democrats rallied against President Donald Trump’s appointment of Bill Pulte to serve as temporary director of national intelligence last week, they said he was an unqualified pick who would be too eager to use the job to undermine elections.
Now some high-ranking Democrats are lining up to support another permanent appointee with a dubious claim to the legal job requirements — Jay Clayton — who has also openly questioned the integrity of U.S. elections.
Some to Democrats are lining up to support Jay Clayton, who has questioned the integrity of elections.
Clayton’s nomination will be heard by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on Wednesday. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., hopes to have him confirmed as soon as Thursday — a lightning-fast process for a top intelligence post.
What’s at stake, however, isn’t just the outcome of Clayton’s nomination process. Trump’s pick is intertwined with the fate of a key domestic surveillance law, Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, that expired Friday.
