美国参议院以51票对47票确认杰伊·克莱顿为国家情报总监[1]。克莱顿将接替因缺乏情报经验而遭撤销的原提名人比尔·普尔特[1]。普尔特曾担任住房官员职位，其提名遭到反对，他还曾宣布执行人员削减计划，涉及约占此前数周人员总数30%的岗位[1]。
克莱顿曾担任美国纽约南区检察官，具有证券监管和联邦检察官背景[1]。在确认听证会上，克莱顿就2020年总统选举问题表态，称拜登已被"认证"为获胜者，"我不是选举否认者"[1]。民主党参议院情报委员会副主席沃纳表示对克莱顿"是否愿意抵抗政治压力"存有"严重保留"[1]。克莱顿的确认可能为国会推进《外国情报监视法》第702条款的重新授权谈判铺平道路[1]。
The U.S. Senate confirmed Jay Clayton as the next Director of National Intelligence with a 51-47 vote [1]. Clayton, who previously served as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, replaces Bill Pulte, whose initial nomination faced opposition due to his lack of intelligence experience [1].
During his confirmation hearing, Clayton addressed questions about the 2020 election, stating that President Biden had been "certified" as the winner and declaring "I am not an election denier" [1]. However, Mark Warner, the Democratic vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, expressed "serious reservations" about whether Clayton would be "willing to resist political pressure" [1]. Clayton's confirmation is expected to advance congressional negotiations over the reauthorization of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act [1].