The Senate confirmed Jay Clayton as director of national intelligence, placing a permanent leader over the US intelligence community after a period of interim leadership. His appointment matters because the role coordinates 18 intelligence agencies and comes as political disputes over election security and the 2020 presidential election remain prominent.

Clayton, the US attorney for the Southern District of New York and a former Securities and Exchange Commission chair, was confirmed 51–47 in a largely party-line vote. Democrats criticised his refusal during his hearing to state plainly that Joe Biden won the 2020 election, while some senators had also raised concerns about acting director Bill Pulte’s lack of intelligence experience and reported staff reductions at the intelligence office.