By Kanishka Singh and Jasper Ward
WASHINGTON, July 7 (Reuters) – The nomination hearing for Jay Clayton, President Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as the next U.S. director of national intelligence, is scheduled for July 15, according to a notice from the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
Here are some details:
• Trump nominated Clayton last month to lead the nation’s 18 intelligence agencies, amid a political backlash over the loyalist he had picked to fill the role temporarily.
• That close ally, Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte, had no national security experience, raising concerns even among some Republicans that he would “weaponize” intelligence against Trump’s perceived political foes.
• Trump told reporters at the start of July there would be a hearing in two weeks from then for Clayton’s confirmation.
• In mid-June, he had called for its abrupt postponement in an effort to force Congress to pass the so-called Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, a strict voter identification bill.
• Trump, who won a second White House term in the 2024 election after losing in 2020, has falsely claimed widespread fraud in U.S. elections and has continued to push debunked claims ahead of November’s midterm contests as part of his pressure campaign to get the SAVE Act passed.
• Trump has said the legislation would deliver his fellow Republicans a “guaranteed” win in November as they seek to maintain their control of Congress.
• Since taking office early last year, Trump has attempted to remake U.S. agencies and institutions by installing loyalists and cracking down on dissent.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh and Jasper Ward in Washington; Editing by Kate Mayberry)
