Senate confirms Clayton as new director of intelligence

The Senate approved federal prosecutor Jay Clayton as the next director of national intelligence.

WASHINGTON — The Senate approved President Donald Trump’s choice to oversee the country’s spy agencies, with the Republican majority voting Tuesday to install top federal prosecutor Jay Clayton as the next director of national intelligence.

Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan, will inherit a much smaller agency after his predecessors cut the office’s workforce in a series of firings in recent weeks and months. And his confirmation follows accusations from Democratic lawmakers and former national security officials that the Trump White House has tried to use the intelligence agencies to wage partisan political warfare.

The vote was 51-47 along party lines. Trump praised Clayton after the vote, writing on social media: “Jay is outstanding in every way, and will do a spectacular job as Director!”

Add NBC News to GoogleTrump's DNI pick, Jay Clayton, makes opening statement at Senate confirmation hearing04:49After Clayton was confirmed, Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., the Intelligence Committee’s vice chairman, explained why he voted against the nomination in a statement and expressed hope that Clayton would not cave to possible political pressure from the White House.

“Having known and worked with Jay for years, I was encouraged when he was first nominated for the position of DNI,” Warner said. “Unfortunately, I came away from his confirmation process with serious reservations about whether he would be willing to stand up to political pressure when it matters most.”