The Senate has confirmed Jay Clayton as the next Director of National Intelligence (DNI), approving his nomination in a 51-47 vote.
Clayton, who was nominated by President Donald Trump last month for the role, will lead the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), which coordinates the activities of the nation’s 18 intelligence agencies and serves as the president’s principal intelligence adviser.
He succeeds acting intelligence chief Bill Pulte.
Clayton brings experience from both government and private sector leadership roles, including serving as chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from 2017 to 2020 and as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
During his tenure leading the SEC, Clayton oversaw the agency’s enforcement and regulatory activities, including more than 2,300 enforcement actions that resulted in more than $10 billion in penalties and disgorgement, along with more than $3 billion returned to harmed investors. He also testified before Congress on issues including cybersecurity, digital assets, market integrity, regulatory responses, and economic issues involving the United States and China.
While at the SEC, Clayton served on several financial and regulatory bodies, including the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets, the Financial Stability Oversight Council, the Financial Stability Board, and the Federal Housing Finance Oversight Board.
Following his SEC tenure, Clayton served as chairman of Apollo Global Management and returned to Sullivan & Cromwell LLP as Of Counsel and Senior Policy Advisor. He also served on the board of American Express and held other advisory roles across the public and private sectors.
Earlier in his career, Clayton spent more than two decades at Sullivan & Cromwell, where he became a partner and co-headed the firm’s Corporate Practice while serving on its Management Committee.
Clayton also has experience in academia, serving as an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Carey Law School and Wharton Business School. From 2022 to 2025, he co-chaired the University of Pennsylvania’s Institute for Law and Economics.
Before entering private practice, Clayton served as a law clerk to Judge Marvin Katz of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
He holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, a bachelor’s and master’s degree in economics from the University of Cambridge as a Thouron Scholar, and a Juris Doctor from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he was elected to the Order of the Coif. He is admitted to practice law in New York and Washington, D.C.
