The U.S. Senate confirmed Jay Clayton as Director of National Intelligence on July 28, 2026, in a 51-43 vote. He is now the nation's top intelligence official, taking over from Tulsi Gabbard (Congress.gov).

President Donald Trump nominated Clayton, who is formally named Walter Joseph Clayton III of New York. The White House sent the nomination to the Senate on June 11, 2026. That same package included a withdrawal notice for Gabbard, which is a required step when replacing a Senate-confirmed official (White House). The Senate received the nomination that day and labeled it PN1092 in the 119th Congress (Congress.gov).

The Senate Intelligence Committee, the group of senators who review intelligence matters, held a closed briefing on the nomination on June 10, 2026 (Senate Intelligence Committee). The committee held its public confirmation hearing on July 15, 2026, at 9:30 AM in Dirksen 106, a Senate hearing room (Senate Intelligence Committee). Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) introduced Clayton at the hearing (Rounds Senate Office).

The full Senate began considering the nomination on July 22, 2026, according to the Congressional Record. A procedural vote that day, which decides whether the Senate can move forward to a final vote, resulted in 51 yeas to 46 nays (Congress.gov). The Congressional Record for July 27 showed the Senate still working through the nomination (Congress.gov). The final confirmation vote on July 28 was 51-43 (Congress.gov).

Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), who chairs the Intelligence Committee, issued a statement after the confirmation (Cotton Senate Office). Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.), the committee's vice chair, released his own response (Warner Senate Office).

During the confirmation process, Democrats raised concerns that Clayton could politicize intelligence at President Trump's direction, NPR reported. The story, reported by Jenna McLaughlin and published at 6:49 AM ET on July 29, aired on Morning Edition (NPR).

The White House had begun building public support for Clayton in mid-June. On June 16, 2026, it published a release titled "Excellent Choice: Jay Clayton Earns Broad Praise as President Trump's DNI Nominee" (White House).

The process moved quickly. Forty-seven days passed between the Senate receiving the nomination on June 11 and the final vote on July 28. That window included one closed briefing, one open hearing, and about a week of Senate floor activity between the July 22 procedural vote and the July 28 confirmation. The number of senators voting no dropped from 46 on July 22 to 43 on July 28, suggesting opposition narrowed as the final vote approached. Three senators who voted no on the procedural step did not vote against final confirmation, were absent, or voted present.

The 51-vote total in both the procedural and final votes means the confirmation relied entirely on Republican support, since the GOP holds the majority in the Senate. Vice President J.D. Vance does not appear to have been needed to break a tie.

Clayton takes over from Gabbard, who was confirmed as DNI earlier in the Trump administration.

As Director of National Intelligence, Clayton oversees the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, or ODNI. That office coordinates 18 government intelligence agencies and produces the President's Daily Brief, a summary of the latest intelligence delivered to the president each day. The DNI also manages the National Intelligence Program budget and sets priorities for collecting and analyzing intelligence across those agencies.