Jay Clayton, the former chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) whose tenure was defined in the crypto industry by the agency’s lawsuit against Ripple Labs, has been confirmed as the ninth Director of National Intelligence (DNI).
The U.S. Senate approved Clayton’s nomination in a 51-47 party-line vote on Tuesday, elevating the former Wall Street lawyer, SEC chairman and U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York to oversee the nation’s intelligence community.
Narrow Senate vote
Clayton’s confirmation reflected the deep partisan divide surrounding President Donald Trump’s latest cabinet appointments.
The Senate voted 51-47, with Republicans backing the nomination and Democrats voting against it. Two senators did not vote. The confirmation followed a procedural cloture vote a day earlier, when the Senate voted 51-43 to limit debate and move the nomination toward a final confirmation.
During his confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Clayton faced repeated questioning over his lack of traditional intelligence experience and so on.
From Wall Street lawyer to America’s top intelligence official
Clayton’s path to becoming Director of National Intelligence spans both the private 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 until the end of Trump’s first administration in 2020.
Following his SEC tenure, Clayton returned to private practice before being appointed U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York in 2025, where he oversaw prosecutions involving terrorism, organized crime, sanctions violations and financial fraud.
He was then nominated to lead the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in June 2026 following the resignation of Tulsi Gabbard. After receiving a narrow 9-8 approval from the Senate Intelligence Committee, his nomination advanced to the Senate floor, where Republicans ultimately secured confirmation.
On December 22, 2020 (his final full day as SEC chairman), the agency filed a lawsuit against Ripple Labs, CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Executive Chairman Chris Larsen, alleging they had conducted a $1.3 billion unregistered securities offering through sales of XRP.
The complaint became one of the defining legal battles in crypto history.
Clayton left the SEC immediately after the lawsuit was filed, but the enforcement action continued under his successor, Gary Gensler. Ripple ended up emerging victorious from the legal battle.
