Clayton dodges 2020 election question in heated DNI hearing
What's next: The Senate Intelligence Committee plans a vote next week, with Clayton still likely to clear the GOP-led chamber.
Jay Clayton, President Donald Trump’s nominee for director of national intelligence, repeatedly refused Wednesday to directly say Joe Biden won the 2020 election, turning what had looked like a smoother confirmation path into a contentious Senate hearing. Clayton told lawmakers, “I am not an election denier” and said Biden had been certified, but he would not directly acknowledge the outcome. Democrats including Sens. Mark Kelly and Jon Ossoff pressed him on that stance, on Tulsi Gabbard’s reported presence at a Georgia election-office raid and on subpoenas issued to New York Times journalists during Clayton’s tenure as U.S. attorney in Manhattan. The committee is expected to vote on his nomination early next week.