Trump taps U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton to lead national intelligence

President Trump on Thursday nominated U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton as director of national intelligence, replacing acting Director William J. Pulte hours after the House rejected reauthorization of a key surveillance law over dissatisfaction with Mr. Pulte.

In a Thursday social media post announcing his pick, Mr. Trump cited the background of Mr. Clayton, who is top federal prosecutor for the Southern District of New York. Mr. Clayton is also the former head of Sullivan & Cromwell, what the president called “one of the most prominent and successful Law Firms anywhere in the World,” and the former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

“Few people anywhere in the Legal Community are respected at the level of Jay,” Mr. Trump posted. “I encourage the United States Senate to confirm Jay as soon as possible.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, South Dakota Republican, said he will try to get Mr. Clayton confirmed “as quickly as possible.”

“He has a great reputation as being an incredibly competent manager, so much so that the Southern District, the judges up there put him in, even when he couldn’t get past the blue slip process,” he said.

Mr. Thune said Mr. Clayton’s nomination could help unlodge Democrats’ opposition to extending the foreign surveillance law, which they are blocking in protest to the president tapping Mr. Pulte to serve as acting DNI.

“I hope that would help,” he said. “I think he’s considered to be a very qualified professional with a great skill set for managing a complex problem set.”

Senate Democratic leader Charles E. Schumer of New York said the nomination doesn’t solve the problem of Mr. Pulte taking over the office on June 19. “It doesn’t matter what else they do. Pulte’s got to be gone. He’s still in that role,” he said.

The White House viewed Mr. Pulte’s role as a short-term job to downsize the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. He is to step in June 19 for the embattled Tulsi Gabbard, who said she is leaving due to her husband’s cancer treatment.

When the president made that move with Mr. Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, it sparked a congressional uproar, mostly from Democrats, over choosing someone with a lack of national security credentials.

That appointment scrambled monthslong congressional negotiations to renew Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, throwing future American surveillance capabilities into limbo. The House defeated a proposal Thursday to extend the current law until July 2.

During his tenure as head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Mr. Pulte was accused by Democrats of using his platform and agency power to broadcast accusations of mortgage fraud against Mr. Trump’s perceived opponents, including New York Attorney General Letitia James and Federal Reserve Board of Governors member Lisa Cook.

Mr. Trump publicly stated that, in addition to downsizing agencies, Mr. Pulte “may find out some things about the rigged elections,” raising more Democratic alarms that he would use the intelligence community for political objectives.

• Kerry Picket contributed to this story.