Truthout is an indispensable resource for activists, movement leaders and workers everywhere. Please make this work possible with a quick donation.

On Thursday, President Donald Trump nominated U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton to become the next Director of National Intelligence (DNI), one of the top federal roles for advising the president on matters of national security.

The selection of Clayton comes as Trump has been widely criticized for selecting Bill Pulte, currently head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), to be “acting” DNI, despite Pulte having zero experience in the realm of national security. According to the statute governing the position, the DNI is required to have “extensive national security experience.”

Trump has indicated that, despite that limitation, Pulte will remain acting DNI until Clayton is confirmed.

But like Pulte, Clayton has almost no national security experience. His positions in government have sometimes touched such matters, but only in small ways — and definitely not to the “extensive” degree the law demands.

Clayton is currently the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY). He previously served as the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission during Trump’s first term in office. Beyond those roles, most of his legal experience has been as a “consigliere” lawyer to........

© Truthout