Senate committee advances nomination of Trump intelligence pick Jay Clayton

Committee voted 9-8 to advance Clayton’s nomination to serve as intelligence chief despite Democratic opposition The Senate intelligence committee on Tuesday advanced the nomination of Jay Clayton to serve as the US intelligence director, despite criticism from Democrats. Donald Trump had nominated Clayton, now the top federal prosecutor in the southern district of New York, for the role of the director of national intelligence (DNI) last month after the departure of Tulsi Gabbard. Intelligence committee members questioned Clayton at a hearing last week, and its Republican chair, Tom Cotton, announced that it had reported his nomination favorably by a 9-8 vote, teeing him up for a future vote on his confirmation by the full Senate. “Jay Clayton is a highly qualified nominee with a deep experience combatting a wide range of national security threats,” Cotton said in a statement. “I’m pleased that the Senate Intelligence Committee voted to advance his nomination to be Director of National Intelligence,” he added. Cotton did not provide a breakdown of how lawmakers voted. The committee is composed of nine Republicans and eight Democrats, and Mark Warner, a spokesperson for the Democra