Jay Clayton, the previous chairman of the U.S. Securities and Trade Fee (SEC) whose tenure was outlined within the crypto trade by the company’s lawsuit towards Ripple Labs, has been confirmed because the ninth Director of Nationwide Intelligence (DNI).
The U.S. Senate authorised Clayton’s nomination in a 51-47 party-line vote on Tuesday, elevating the previous Wall Avenue lawyer, SEC chairman and U.S. Lawyer for the Southern District of New York to supervise the nation’s intelligence neighborhood.
Slender Senate vote
Clayton’s affirmation mirrored the deep partisan divide surrounding President Donald Trump’s newest cupboard appointments.
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The Senate voted 51-47, with Republicans backing the nomination and Democrats voting towards it. Two senators didn’t vote. The affirmation adopted a procedural cloture vote a day earlier, when the Senate voted 51-43 to restrict debate and transfer the nomination towards a remaining affirmation.
Throughout his affirmation listening to earlier than the Senate Intelligence Committee, Clayton confronted repeated questioning over his lack of conventional intelligence expertise and so forth.
From Wall Avenue lawyer to America’s high intelligence official
Clayton’s path to turning into Director of Nationwide Intelligence spans each the personal and public sectors.
In 2017, Clayton was nominated to chair the SEC. The Senate confirmed him in a bipartisan 61-37 vote, and he served till the top of Trump’s first administration in 2020.
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Following his SEC tenure, Clayton returned to personal follow earlier than being appointed U.S. Lawyer for the Southern District of New York in 2025, the place he oversaw prosecutions involving terrorism, organized crime, sanctions violations and monetary fraud.
He was then nominated to guide the Workplace of the Director of Nationwide Intelligence in June 2026 following the resignation of Tulsi Gabbard. After receiving a slender 9-8 approval from the Senate Intelligence Committee, his nomination superior to the Senate flooring, the place Republicans in the end secured affirmation.
On December 22, 2020 (his remaining full day as SEC chairman), the company filed a lawsuit towards Ripple Labs, CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Govt Chairman Chris Larsen, alleging that they had carried out a $1.3 billion unregistered securities providing by way of gross sales of XRP.
The grievance grew to become one of many defining authorized battles in crypto historical past.
Clayton left the SEC instantly after the lawsuit was filed, however the enforcement motion continued below his successor, Gary Gensler. Ripple ended up rising victorious from the authorized battle.