One word did most of the work at Jay Clayton's confirmation hearing. The word was 'certified.'
Asked at his July 15 appearance before the Senate Intelligence Committee whether Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election, Clayton repeatedly said instead that Biden was certified as president [1].
Certification is a procedural fact about what state officials and Congress recorded. Winning is a factual claim about who got more votes where.
A nominee who will affirm the first and not the second has told you precisely how much he is prepared to say.
Democrats on the committee were angered by it [1]. On July 28 the Senate confirmed him anyway, 51 to 47 - every Republican in favour, no Democrat [2].
What Clayton inherits is worth stating plainly, because it explains why even senators uneasy about him did not fight harder.
The job had been held on an acting basis by Bill Pulte, a housing official with no intelligence background whom the President appointed temporarily, for more than a month [1] [2].
The choice in front of the Senate was not between Clayton and a career intelligence professional.
Two reactions frame what happens next.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune tied the vote to a separate fight: 'I hope this will encourage my colleagues to stop blocking reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act' [1].
Senator Mark Warner, the ranking Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, offered the narrower hope: 'Now that he has been confirmed, I sincerely hope he proves those concerns unfounded, because the Intelligence Community deserves steadier leadership' [1].
A correction to our own file. A Pixel Politics wire brief published earlier today said Clayton would replace Tulsi Gabbard. That is wrong. The person he replaces is Bill Pulte, who was serving as acting director. We have corrected the brief.
