Bill Cassidy

Clayton, the current U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, was tasked in 2025 with leading the federal investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s relationships to several prominent Democrats, including former President Bill Clinton, Larry Summers, and Reid Hoffman.

He also recently said voters were right to question the election results coming out of California.

Trump announced Clayton as his next DNI in a Truth Social post on Thursday afternoon, after the House failed to pass a short-term extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act set to expire on Friday. A Senate attempt to pass a brief extension through unanimous consent also failed.

The president called on the Senate to confirm Clayton “as soon as possible” and asserted that “Few people anywhere in the Legal Community are respected at the level of Jay.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) told reporters that the upper chamber will try to get Clayton confirmed “as quickly as possible,” noting he has been processed by the Senate before.

TRUMP NAMES JAY CLAYTON AS NEXT INTELLIGENCE CHIEF AMID FISA GRIDLOCK

It’s unclear how much opposition Clayton will face in the Senate, where he will first have to be processed by the Senate Intelligence Committee.

When asked if he would oppose Clayton’s nomination, Cassidy, who is not a member of the Intelligence Committee, said, “We’ll see if he makes it.”