US President Donald Trump has named the top federal prosecutor in New York to be the nation’s most senior spy chief, after lawmakers in Congress objected to his previous choice due to lack of relevant experience.
Jay Clayton is currently serving as US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and is overseeing several prominent cases, including the drug trafficking case against former Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro.
On Thursday, Trump tapped him to be the next director of national intelligence, the country’s top spy chief who oversees 18 government intelligence agencies.
Outgoing Director Tulsi Gabbard’s last day is 30 June.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump praised Clayton for his former leadership of the US Securities and Exchange Commission – the US government agency that polices the stock markets – as well as law firm Sullivan & Cromwell.
“Few people anywhere in the Legal Community are respected at the level of Jay,” Trump wrote, also calling on the US Senate to confirm the nomination “as soon as possible”.
Trump’s previous selection was widely criticised in Congress due to lack of any previous experience in intelligence-gathering, and politically sensitive investigations that he opened against Trump’s Democratic enemies.
Bill Pulte has been accused of using his role as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to target Trump’s perceived enemies by making criminal referrals over claims of mortgage fraud.
None of the cases have led to successful prosecutions. The Government Accountability Office is now investigating how the FHFA carries out mortgage fraud investigations and how it may have changed its processes recently.
Lawmakers reacted approvingly to the nomination of Clayton.
“I think he’s considered to be a very qualified professional with a great skill set for managing a complex problem set,” said Republican Senator John Thune.
Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the committee that will vote on Clayton’s nomination, called him “very qualified”.
According to the New York Times, CIA Director John Ratcliffe had pushed for Clayton to lead the Office of the Director of National Security.
In addition to the case against Maduro, Clayton’s New York team has also played a key role in reviewing documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, and leading the case against an Iraqi man accused of plotting attacks on US soil on behalf of Iran.
By BBC News
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