Jay Clayton
Director of National Intelligence
Jay Clayton is the ninth Director of National Intelligence, sworn in on August 3, 2026. He was previously U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and chaired the Securities and Exchange Commission from May 2017 to December 2020.
Biography
Jay Clayton was born at Fort Eustis in Newport News, Virginia, and was raised mainly in central and southeastern Pennsylvania, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission. He holds a B.S. in engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, a B.A. and M.A. in economics from the University of Cambridge, and a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He was a partner at the law firm Sullivan & Cromwell, where he sat on the management committee.
President Trump nominated Clayton to chair the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 20, 2017. He was sworn in on May 4, 2017, and served until December 2020. Between periods of government service he was chairman of the board of Apollo Global Management, chaired the audit committee of American Express, returned to Sullivan & Cromwell as of counsel, and taught as an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania. He later served as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Clayton was sworn in as the ninth Director of National Intelligence on August 3, 2026, after Senate confirmation the previous week. The director heads the intelligence community and is the president's principal adviser on intelligence matters.
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Published claim checks
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