Jay Clayton has been confirmed as the next US director of national intelligence (DNI), after lawmakers rejected President Donald Trump’s original pick.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate voted 51-47 to install Clayton, replacing incumbent DNI Bill Pulte. Pulte was Trump’s original pick, but he faced criticism for being a housing official with no national intelligence experience.

Clayton had served as US attorney for the Southern District of New York, overseeing several high-profile cases, including the drug trafficking case against former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

“Jay is exceptional in every way and will do a spectacular job as director!” Trump later posted on Truth Social.

Clayton, who is also a former securities regulator and federal prosecutor, succeeds Tulsi Gabbard, who left her job last month and was temporarily replaced by Pulte.

Pulte’s initial appointment in early June raised alarm for both parties, as the Trump loyalist used his other role as federal housing regulator to refer several of the president’s political opponents for possible prosecution and oversaw staff cuts.

Shortly before the vote passed on Clayton’s appointment, Pulte posted about the cuts at

Shortly after the June scare over Pulte, Trump announced Clayton as his replacement candidate. Senators tried to move quickly with his confirmation.

However, Clayton’s first scheduled appearance before the Senate intelligence committee on June 17 was canceled by Trump, who blamed lawmakers for allowing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (Fisa) to lapse.

Democrats initially welcomed Clayton as a more conventional candidate than Pulte, although their opinion appeared to change during his confirmation hearing earlier this month.

Clayton was repeatedly asked whether former Democratic President Joe Biden won the 2020 election, to which he responded by saying Biden had been “certified” as the winner. “I’m not an election denier,” Clayton told senators.

The vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Mark Warner, a Democrat, later said that “it came out of [Clayton’s] confirmation hearing with serious reservations about whether he would be willing to face political pressure.

“I sincerely hope that he demonstrates that those concerns are unfounded, because the intelligence community deserves stronger leadership than it has received in recent months,” Warner said in his statement.

Clayton’s confirmation could help revive congressional negotiations over Fisa Section 702. This legislation allows the US government to collect communications involving foreigners abroad without an individual court order, and Trump has been pushing for its long-term renewal.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican, said Monday: “I hope [Clayton’s appointment] I will encourage my colleagues to stop blocking the reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.”