Donald Trump is deep into his second term and still trying to get people confirmed for major jobs, which honestly sounds like a group project where nobody wants to do their part. The latest saga involves picking a new Director of National Intelligence after Tulsi Gabbard stepped down to care for her husband, who was diagnosed with cancer. Now Jay Clayton is on the verge of getting the gig, as Conservative Brief reported, and the Senate voted Monday to advance his nomination.
The procedural vote went 51 to 43, splitting almost perfectly along party lines, because apparently bipartisanship is a relic of a bygone era, like phone books and common sense. Clayton previously ran the Securities and Exchange Commission during Trump's first go around in the White House, and he squeaked through the Senate Intelligence Committee with a razor thin 9 to 8 vote. Democrats have essentially adopted a strategy of opposing every single person Trump puts forward, which at this point feels less like politics and more like a reflex.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune took to the floor to scold Democrats for their partisan approach, saying you'd think they could muster some bipartisanship for this particular nominee. He pointed out the irony that Democrats openly despised Trump's temporary pick for the role, acting DNI Bill Pulte, yet still refused to help confirm his permanent replacement. Thune noted that Democratic opposition actually caused a critical counterterrorism surveillance tool to go dark for the first time in history. Great teamwork, everyone.
Speaking of Pulte, the Federal Housing Finance Agency director was tapped to serve as acting spy chief after Gabbard departed. He apparently took the interim gig very seriously, conducting four rounds of layoffs to root out alleged "deep state" operatives. He even celebrated the fourth round on social media with a cheerful "Thank you!" because nothing says national security like a victory lap post on X.
Meanwhile, Section 702 of FISA, which supporters say helped prevent terrorist attacks including an alleged mass casualty plot targeting a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna, has essentially gone dormant. New authorizations are stuck until Congress gets its act together and reauthorizes the program. Democrats pulled out of a bipartisan deal to extend it after Trump canceled Clayton's originally scheduled confirmation hearing, which is the legislative equivalent of taking your ball and going home.
During his confirmation hearing, Democrats grilled Clayton about the 2020 presidential election, Gabbard's reported involvement with election offices in Fulton County, Georgia, and subpoenas issued to New York Times reporters during his time as the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan's Southern District. The final confirmation vote is scheduled for Tuesday, which means by midweek we might actually have a permanent intelligence chief. Only took a few months and a surveillance program going offline, but hey, who's counting?
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