WASHINGTON, Aug 3 (Reuters) – Jay Clayton was sworn in Monday as the U.S. director of national intelligence after a contentious Senate confirmation hearing in which he refused to directly acknowledge that President Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential election.
He takes on a role that was vacated in June when Tulsi Gabbard stepped down after a tenure marked by clashes with congressional Democrats, who accused her of advancing Trump’s political agenda and promoting debunked election claims.
“The safety and security of the American people will be our North Star, and we will work to make sure the American people have complete confidence in the IC through proper oversight, transparency, and accountability,” Clayton said in a statement released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
“This includes ensuring the vital work of our IC is never weaponized for political motives,” Clayton added, using a term embraced by the Republican president and his allies in making unproven claims that previous administrations abused federal power to target him.
U.S. Senate Republicans last week confirmed Trump’s nominee to be the nation’s top intelligence official, despite opposition from Democrats, who criticized him for repeatedly refusing during the hearing to directly acknowledge Trump’s 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
With just over three months left before midterm elections that will decide which party controls Congress, Trump has escalated efforts to make “election security” a central issue, despite established findings that voter fraud is rare.
Clayton, who has been the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, will oversee 18 U.S. intelligence agencies.
(Reporting by Ismail Shakil and Doina Chiacu; Editing by Michelle Nichols)
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