U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton, who has been confirmed by the Senate to lead the U.S. intelligence community [AP=Yonhap News File Photo]

The U.S. Senate confirmed the nomination of Jay Clayton, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, as the new Director of National Intelligence (DNI) on the 28th (local time), as nominated by President Donald Trump.

The Senate held a plenary session that day and passed the nomination of Clayton with a vote of 51 in favor and 47 against.

With the passage of the confirmation, President Trump can now immediately appoint Clayton as the new DNI.

Following the confirmation, President Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social, "Congratulations to the great Jay Clayton on being confirmed by the U.S. Senate to be our next DNI. Jay is brilliant in every way, and will do a fantastic job as Director."

Clayton will become the 9th DNI in history and the second intelligence chief to serve in President Trump's second administration, following former Director Tulsi Gabbard.

The DNI oversees the 18 U.S. intelligence agencies and prepares the President's Daily Brief.

As Director, Clayton is highly likely to face demands for the disclosure of further information regarding President Trump's persistent claims that the 2020 presidential election was fraudulent and that he was the rightful winner.

This could lead to frequent friction and conflict with the opposition Democratic Party. During his Senate Intelligence Committee confirmation hearing on the 15th, Democratic lawmakers repeatedly pressured him to state who the winner of the 2020 election was.

In response, Clayton stated, "Joe Biden has been certified as President of the United States." The term "certified" is often used by officials in the Trump administration when they are compelled to acknowledge the fact that Biden won.

Once Clayton officially takes office, William Pultie, Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, who has been serving as the acting DNI, will step down from the acting position.

On the same day, acting Director Pultie claimed on X (formerly Twitter) that recent staff cuts at the DNI have reduced the agency's workforce by approximately 30% compared to a few weeks ago.

However, U.S. media outlets are reporting that since Pultie did not disclose specific details regarding the workforce reductions, the claim that the scale reached 30% could not be immediately verified.