Jay Clayton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, in New York City, U.S., December 10, 2025. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon
On Thursday, President Donald Trump announced that he will nominate federal prosecutor Jay Clayton for director of national intelligence (DNI). Presently, Clayton is a U.S. attorney for the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Southern District of New York (SDNY). And according to Politico, SDNY insiders are on "pins and needles" as they wait to see who Trump will come up with for the position that Clayton is vacating.
Longtime DOJ prosecutors, Politico's Erica Orden reports, had their reservations about Clayton when Trump appointed him; Clayton had a long legal resumé, but no prior experience as a federal prosecutor. But now, with Clayton on his way out, insiders in the Southern District fear that he could be replaced with someone they consider much worse.
A former federal prosecutor for SDNY, interviewed on condition of anonymity, told Politico, "There's a lot of trepidation about it…. People have begrudgingly accepted Clayton at the office because they're looking around and see (the alternatives)."
That Politico source described assistant U.S. attorneys at SDNY as being on "pins and needles." In the Southern District, according to the former SDNY prosecutor, "the absence of catastrophe has allowed people to mostly be able to do their jobs."
"Clayton held a meeting at the office late Thursday afternoon after Trump's announcement, according to two people familiar with the matter, but didn't appear to address his replacement," Orden reports. "Names being floated in SDNY circles Thursday included Sean Buckley, the current deputy U.S. attorney; Nicolas Roos, co-chief of the office's securities and commodities fraud task force; and James McDonald, one of Trump's personal lawyers who is close with Clayton. McDonald is a former Manhattan prosecutor…. Despite any misgivings about Clayton, the widespread sentiment in the office was that Manhattan was lucky it escaped the fate of other districts like the Eastern District of Virginia or the Northern District of New York, where Trump has installed inexperienced loyalists who have botched cases or been disqualified."
During Trump's first presidency, Clayton chaired the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Trump nominated Clayton for SDNY after returning to the White House for his second term, and he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in May 2025.
According to MS NOW's Mika Brzezinski, Clayton appears to have "passed his audition" for national intelligence director. Presently, that position is held by Trump loyalist Bill Pulte, who is serving as interim DNI. Democrats on Capitol Hill, along with some Republicans, are highly critical of Trump's decision to temporarily appoint Pulte — as his background in Trump's administration is strictly in housing, and he has no background in intel or national security.
