Welcome to The Logoff: Donald Trump has a new pick for director of national intelligence.
Who’s the new guy? Jay Clayton, currently the US attorney for the Southern District of New York and a former chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission. He is — at least by Trump standards — an uncontroversial selection: Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, told reporters Thursday that he has “great respect” for Clayton.
What’s the context? The director of national intelligence job is opening up because its current holder, former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, announced last month that she would resign later in June.
But Clayton’s selection for the permanent director of national intelligence job comes after Trump made a more concerning pick last week: Pending Clayton’s Senate confirmation, current Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte will take over as acting director of intelligence late next week, while remaining in his housing job.
Pulte is utterly unqualified for the role, and Trump’s decision to elevate him caused a bipartisan outcry. It also appears to have sunk, for now, a bill to reauthorize a foreign surveillance program that will expire tomorrow.
Does Clayton’s nomination fix everything? Not quite. The choice of Clayton as a permanent DNI satisfies one demand from lawmakers, but for now, Pulte is still set to take over until Clayton is confirmed by the full Senate (which won’t happen before next Friday). On Thursday, Trump confirmed he plans to keep Pulte in the acting role.
When Pulte does take over, his mandate appears to be to conduct “extensive cuts” to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, according to Reuters. There are also serious concerns about what else he could do with the job, even during a brief tenure.
At the housing agency he currently leads, he has taken it upon himself to play the role of self-appointed mortgage fraud czar and Trump attack dog, harassing the president’s political enemies.
