Trump Says He’s Nominating US Attorney Jay Clayton as Director of National Intelligence

Jay Clayton, former chairman of the SEC, speaks during 13D Monitor's Active-Passive Investor Summit in New York on Oct. 22, 2024. Brendan McDermid/Reuters

President Donald Trump on Thursday said he is nominating Jay Clayton, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, to be his director of national intelligence. The move comes weeks after former intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard said she is stepping down from the role.

Trump, in announcing the decision on Truth Social, wrote that “few people anywhere” in the legal community have as much respect as Clayton, the former head of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), whom the president also described as “highly respected.”