The man President Donald Trump has nominated to lead director of National Intelligence faced repeated questions Wednesday over his views on the 2020 presidential election.
Read more Opinion: The blind spot in the talk about Trump Accounts
And nominee Jay Clayton repeatedly answered Democratic senators in a way that did not satisfy them.
Tulsi Gabbard for director of National Intelligence at the beginning of his second term. But Gabbard resigned the position last month after her husband was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer.
Trump nominated Bill Pulte to head the agency as Gabbard’s replacement. But after bipartisan pushback due to Pulte’s limited intelligence experience, Trump pulled the nomination and nominated Jay Clayton.
Clayton is an attorney who previously served as chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission in the first Trump administration and as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York since 2025.
If confirmed by the Senate, Clayton will be head of the 17 intelligence agencies within the federal government.
In a hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday, Democratic senators questioned Clayton on elections and his subpoenas of journalists in New York. Clayton was asked by four different senators whether he believed the results of the 2020 presidential election.
The vote to advance Clayton’s nomination to the full Senate will happen early next week. Several Democrats praised his nomination last month which makes Republicans hopeful that his nomination will proceed.
The questioning on elections comes the day before Trump’s announced primetime speech on elections.
‘I’m not an election denier’
When asked by Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va. whether he believed that President Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election, Clayton said that he was “not an election denier,” and that “Joe Biden was certified as the president of the United States.”
Read more Opinion: The hidden strings of foreign funds to universities must stop
“We have substantial work to do,” said Clayton, “in improving our electoral processes. It’s part of national security. I feel strongly about that.”
Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) asked Jay Clayton during his confirmation hearing to be director of national intelligence whether he denies that Joe Biden won the 2020 election.
“I’m not an election denier,” Clayton said. “Joe Biden was certified as the president of the United States.”… pic.twitter.com/0NCdjMrieT
— CBS News (@CBSNews) July 15, 2026
When pressed later by Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., to again state whether or not he believed that Biden won the 2020 election of Georgia, Clayton responded, “I’m not going to get into that with you. … I think I’ve answered the question.”
Ossoff responded, saying “You refuse to answer a basic question about who won a presidential election, but you ask to lead America’s intelligence community.”
Clayton was also asked about subpoenas he had issued to journalists of The New York Times while he was a U.S. attorney in New York.
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., questioned Clayton, saying, “It’s not even clear that the subpoenas that you signed followed the administration’s policy, which requires the government to first make all reasonable attempts to obtain information from other sources. What specific actions did you take before you signed the subpoenas?”
“Any action in this regard,” Clayton responded, “you can be assured that it was a consultative exercise with the career prosecutors in my office.”
If the Senate Intelligence Committee advances Clayton’s nomination next week, the Senate will subsequently vote on his official confirmation.
On Thursday, Trump will give a primetime address regarding elections. The president has put increased pressure on Congress recently to pass Utah Sen. Mike Lee’s SAVE America Act that would require Voter ID to register in elections.
Read more Cigarettes are getting their Hollywood moment, again.