Donald Trump backed down and announced a new pick to be his director of National Intelligence on Thursday after Democrats threatened to allow a key piece of surveillance legislation expire rather than allow one of the president’s political operatives to temporarily serve in the role.
The president wrote on Truth Social on Thursday afternoon that Jay Clayton, a former chair of the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and attorney for the Southern District of New York would take over the role, pending Senate confirmation. His statement came only a few short hours after Democrats halted an attempt to extend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) for three weeks while Congress worked over the impasse.
