Donald Trump has tapped Jay Clayton, a former Securities and Exchange Commission chairman and current U.S. attorney for Manhattan, to lead the nation's intelligence apparatus, a choice that elevates a Wall Street veteran with zero experience in espionage or foreign intelligence operations.
Clayton's résumé reads like a who's who of elite legal practice. He spent years at Sullivan & Cromwell, the white-shoe Manhattan firm, where he represented Goldman Sachs during the 2008 financial crisis and built a fortune advising major financial institutions. That Wall Street perch made him exceptionally rich but gave him no background in intelligence tradecraft, covert operations, or the complex machinery that monitors foreign threats.
Trump nominated Clayton to lead the SEC during his first term in 2017. After returning to office in 2025, the president installed him as the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan without Senate confirmation, instead approved directly by the court. That appointment placed him in the center of contentious political fights, according to reporting at the time.
Clayton has demonstrated vocal enthusiasm for the Trump agenda. Days before his nomination to the intelligence post, he publicly cast doubt on California's election integrity, claiming the state's mail-voting system created an "opportunity for fraud." Speaking on CNBC in June, he said the country was doing an "absolutely terrible job" on election integrity, echoing Trump's repeated unsubstantiated claims that elections are rigged.
Trump's personal relationship with Clayton appears unusually warm for a cabinet pick. Recent reporting indicates Clayton has spent considerable time socializing and golfing with the president. The Wall Street Journal has also noted that Clayton has been frequently absent from his office as U.S. attorney.
Clayton's elevation to the intelligence role would mark a continuation of the administration's approach to the position. His predecessor in the intelligence director role oversaw investigations into alleged election fraud at the president's direction.
Clayton holds degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, including an engineering undergraduate and a law degree, as well as a master's from King's College Cambridge. He was notably involved in approving the indictment against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro while serving as U.S. attorney.
Author James Rodriguez: "A lifelong corporate lawyer with zero spy experience is now running American intelligence, mostly because he golfs with Trump and questions elections without evidence. That should worry anyone who cares whether the intelligence community stays independent."
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