Senate poised to confirm Jay Clayton as intelligence chief

The Senate was set to vote Tuesday evening on Jay Clayton to lead the U.S. intelligence community, with the former Securities and Exchange Commission chair expected to win confirmation largely along party lines. Clayton would take charge of 18 intelligence agencies and replace interim director Bill Pulte, whose brief tenure drew bipartisan concern after layoffs and the release of 2020 intelligence documents tied to election-security claims. Clayton’s nomination, once seen as straightforward, ran into resistance after he declined at a hearing to say Joe Biden won the 2020 election. His confirmation could also help revive negotiations over Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which expired in June.