Clayton advances toward Senate vote, reviving debate over a key surveillance tool

Senate Intelligence Committee voted 9-8 to advance Jay Clayton’s nomination to be Director of National Intelligence, clearing a path to a full Senate confirmation. The move reopens discussion around reauthorizing Section 702 of the FISA, the counterterrorism surveillance tool idle since June. Clayton, a former NY federal prosecutor and former SEC chair, faced Democratic questions on the 2020 election and Trump’s push to attach the SAVE America Act to his confirmation. If confirmed, he would lead the 18-agency DNI and could help restart the controversial surveillance authority, which has been a flashpoint in bipartisan security debates.