US Senate Republicans confirmed President Donald Trump's nominee, Manhattan US Attorney Jay Clayton, to be the nation's top spy, despite opposition from Democrats following an angry confirmation hearing.
Clayton fills a role vacated in June when Tulsi Gabbard stepped down after a tenure marked by clashes with congressional Democrats, who accused her of advancing Trump's political agenda and promoting debunked election claims.
The vote was 51-47 to confirm Clayton for the job of Director of National Intelligence, overseeing the 18 US intelligence agencies. The vote was along party lines, with Trump's Republicans backing his nominee and members of the Democratic caucus voting no.
With just over three months left before mid-term elections that will decide which party controls Congress, Trump has escalated efforts to make "election security" a central issue, despite established findings that voter fraud is rare.
Clayton, 60, is a former lawyer at Sullivan & Cromwell who specialized in mergers and capital raising. During Trump's first term, he served as the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, where he developed a reputation as a political moderate who sought consensus with the Democratic commissioners.
His official biography shows that he has no intelligence background and lacks extensive national security experience, a legal requirement to serve as DNI. But his backers, including some Democrats before the controversies surrounding his hearings, said his position as Manhattan US attorney involved enough national security work to qualify him for the post.