President Donald Trump named Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, as his nominee to replace Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence, after a two-week furor over his plans to name federal housing chief Bill Pulte to the role in an acting capacity.

But the nomination likely comes too late to prevent a lapse on Friday of federal foreign surveillance authorities under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which Democrats have refused to reauthorize in protest of the Pulte pick.

Clayton is also a former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission and partner at  Sullivan & Cromwell. “Few people anywhere in the Legal Community are respected at the level of Jay. I encourage the United States Senate to confirm Jay as soon as possible,” Trump said in his announcement on Truth Social.

Though his career hasn’t been focused on national security issues, Clayton’s time at the SEC and the SDNY gave him background in law enforcement, security and counterterrorism issues, which could help assuage concerns on the Hill.

Clayton signed the U.S. indictment of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro ahead of Maduro’s capture by U.S. forces in Caracas.

After his time in the first Trump administration, among other roles, Clayton served as an advisor to Fireblocks, an Israeli-based cryptocurrency firm.

Trump initially said that Pulte would begin as acting DNI at the end of the month, but subsequently moved his start date earlier, to June 19. It’s unlikely that Clayton could be confirmed before the end of next week, so it remains unclear whether Trump still intends to put Pulte in the role at all.

Trump said Thursday afternoon that Pulte will be DNI for “a little while” and “he’s running it for a short while we get a very talented person, Jay Clayton, in.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) told reporters, “Pulte’s got to go. The DNI role is too important for him to be there. He has got to go, period. No matter what else they do.”

Asked whether he would support Clayton, Schumer responded, “I support getting rid of Pulte. That’s unequivocal.”

Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-WY) told Jewish Insider he was “encouraged by the president’s decision to name someone permanently for that role, and it’s the right move.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said on X that Clayton is an “outstanding choice” who has “real-world experience, the complete confidence of the President and has performed every task in the public and private sectors in an exemplary manner.”

Some Democrats worried by Trump’s pick of Pulte appear to be at least somewhat relieved by the Clayton nomination.

“[It’s] a vast improvement. I’ll need to look at his record,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) told reporters. “I’ll need to look at his record … whether he has experience in the area of national intelligence.”

Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said on X he has “known and respected Jay Clayton for decades” and that he will be a “terrific DNI.”

“Had this nomination been made a week ago, lots of pain might have been avoided,” Himes said.

Others remain on guard.

Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) said he needs to research Clayton further before forming an opinion on him but said that he believes Trump “hasn’t changed on the whole idea of using the DNI to effectively screw with the 2026 elections.”

The Clayton nomination seems to come too late to salvage FISA talks before the Section 702 authorities lapse. Both chambers rejected efforts for a short-term extension of surveillance authorities — which Republicans warn creates national security and terrorism risks, especially ahead of the World Cup.

A bill requiring a two-thirds majority in the House was opposed by a majority of the House on Thursday, with Democrats and several Republicans voting against it. The House has now left Washington for a scheduled recess until June 23. 

Senate Democrats blocked efforts to unanimously pass an extension of Section 702 authorities shortly before Trump announced Clayton’s nomination.

Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), the vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said, “I’ve never been a fan of Director Gabbard, but if Director Gabbard were to stay until he was confirmed, that could be a path out. But again, if there was any level of serious concern about this in the White House — the House has already left town.”

But Warner said he has “great respect” for Clayton.

Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) told reporters, “Quite frankly, I wish we were talking about the substance of the bill, how we balance national security concerns on the one hand and civil liberties on the other. Instead, once again, Donald Trump is the fly in the ointment, and he’s put forward someone [Pulte] that demonstrates that he’s much more interested in having a political operative over our intelligence agencies than preserving our national security.”

Asked about Clayton, Warnock said, “Pulte has to be out of the equation.”