Thune on Jay Clayton’s Nomination

Click here to watch the video. WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) today delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor: Thune’s remarks below (as delivered): “Mr. President, this afternoon we’re going to move on the nomination of Jay Clayton to be director of national intelligence. “Amid a heightened threat environment, having a proven leader in this role is especially important. “And Jay Clayton fits the mold. “Mr. President, during the first Trump administration, Jay Clayton served as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission for almost four years. “And under his leadership, the SEC went after financial crimes and fraud and aimed to protect Main Street investors. “He also worked with the intelligence community on national security issues that intersected with our financial system. “That included efforts to address Chinese influence and exploitation of our markets. “And, of course, he worked to maintain economic stability after the onset of the pandemic as well. “So, Mr. President, with that record, it’s no wonder that President Trump wanted Jay Clayton to serve in his second administration, this time as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York: an important law enforcement post. “And for the past year and a half in that role, Mr. Clayton has been busy. “He’s supervised the prosecution of terrorists and the drafting of the indictment against Nicolas Maduro on drug-trafficking and terrorism charges. “And now President Trump has nominated him for a Cabinet post leading our nation’s intelligence community. “Mr. President, Jay Clayton’s record inspires confidence in the type of DNI that he will be. “And Democrats have previously recognized his abilities. “He’s earned bipartisan support in the past. “The Democrat vice chair of the Intelligence Committee even said after Mr. Clayton was nominated for this position, and I quote, ‘I have known and respected Jay Clayton for many years and believe he is a capable public servant.’ “That, again, Mr. President, from the Democrat vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee. “So one might think that we’d be seeing some bipartisanship from Democrats on this nominee. “But Democrats are playing the same partisan games with this qualified nominee as they have for so many of President Trump’s picks. “And, Mr. President, it’s a funny thing, because Democrats have made no secret of their disdain for [the] current acting director of … national intelligence. “In fact, Democrats were so worked up over the president’s temporary choice for this position, they allowed our nation’s most important counterterrorism tool to go dark for the first time ever. “That’s right. “Now Democrats have the opportunity to replace that acting official. “But they’re in no apparent rush to confirm a permanent director of national intelligence. “They’ve opposed his nomination in committee. “They’ve delayed things here on the floor. “And I don’t expect we’ll see a lot of Democrat support for him in the final roll call. “It doesn’t matter how qualified the nominee, Mr. President. “Or even that Democrats supposedly want to see the current acting director replaced. “For our colleagues across the aisle, everything – everything – takes a back seat to their political games. “Well, I’ve run out of words, Mr. President. “It’s shameful. “Mr. President, we’re going to move forward with the Clayton nomination this week. “We will have a permanent director of national intelligence in place shortly. “And I hope this will encourage my colleagues to stop blocking reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.”