WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� , President Donald Trump鈥檚 pick to head the nation鈥檚 intelligence agencies, will testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday, weeks after Trump .
Republicans and even some Democrats have been eager to quickly confirm Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and a former Securities and Exchange Commission chairman, as they have expressed concerns about Trump鈥檚 interim appointee for the intelligence post, . Pulte, who has been in the job since June 19, is a former housing official with no known intelligence experience and who used to target perceived adversaries of the president.
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton, R-Ark., expressed frustration when Trump delayed Clayton鈥檚 nomination in a social media post last month, allowing Pulte to take office. Cotton said then that Clayton had been instructed not to appear at a scheduled confirmation hearing, but he rescheduled the hearing three weeks later, with apparent approval from the White House.
鈥淢r. Clayton is a patriot and a highly qualified nominee, as the president has said repeatedly,鈥� Cotton said.
While Clayton has received some bipartisan praise, Democrats are expected to aggressively question him on how he would approach the issue of election interference, especially as Trump has said he will deliver a primetime address on Thursday with a focus on elections, suggesting he could revisit long-debunked conspiracy theories about his 2020 defeat to Democrat Joe Biden.
鈥淭rump made it clear that he expects whomever is Director of National Intelligence to promote his baseless election conspiracy theories,鈥� said Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democratic member of the intelligence panel, after the nomination was delayed last month.
Some Democrats praise Clayton, but bipartisan support is uncertain
Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the panel鈥檚 top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in June that he has 鈥渒nown and respected Jay Clayton for many years and believe he is a capable public servant.鈥� But he has stopped short of saying he would vote for him.
Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House intelligence panel, said he worked with Clayton when he was chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and “during that time, he had the independence of mind and respect for the law that are necessary for any Director of National Intelligence,鈥� Himes said.
Still, most Democrats are expected to vote against his nomination. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said Tuesday that he expects to oppose Clayton, but he and other Democrats may not object if majority Republicans want to try and speed up his confirmation so that he can replace Pulte.
鈥淚鈥檓 not going to vote for him,鈥� Blumenthal said. 鈥淏ut I wouldn鈥檛 object to an accelerated vote.鈥�
As US attorney in Manhattan, Clayton oversees vast portfolio
Clayton is currently the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, the most prestigious of the Justice Department鈥檚 prosecution offices. His cases have ranged from terrorism and espionage cases to security fraud and public corruption.
Democrats are certain to press Clayton on his role in recent subpoenas of four New York Times journalists after they reported on security concerns involving the new, . The Committee to Protect Journalists has called the subpoenas 鈥渁n extraordinary escalation in President Trump鈥檚 efforts to threaten and intimidate independent news organizations and have a chilling effect on the work of journalists across the country.”
Under Clayton, the office also facilitated the unsealing of thousands of pages of court records from the prosecutions of and 鈥� documents that were made public as part of the Justice Department鈥檚 release of records related to the late sex offender and his longtime confidant.
Clayton has also overseen the prosecution of former Venezuelan President and Maduro鈥檚 wife, Cilia Flores, on drug trafficking charges.
Confirmation vote could unlock renewal of surveillance authority
Clayton鈥檚 confirmation could potentially clear the way for bipartisan legislation to renew , or FISA, which stalled last month when Democrats had said they would not provide the necessary votes to pass the bill unless Pulte鈥檚 temporary appointment was withdrawn.
The law, which aims to prevent terrorist attacks by monitoring the communications of targeted foreigners located outside the United States, expired in June.
Even if Democrats relent, though, it is unclear if Trump would sign it. He said in his June social media post delaying Clayton鈥檚 nomination that he would not sign the FISA renewal without his legislation to require 鈥� which does not have enough votes to pass the Senate.
Clearing Clayton鈥檚 nomination 鈥渨ould be a good first step鈥� in moving the FISA renewal, said South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds, a member of the intelligence panel.
Rounds said that Republicans hope to move Clayton鈥檚 nomination quickly through the process, if Democrats don鈥檛 object.
鈥淲e鈥檙e looking forward to getting him into that position as quickly as possible,鈥� he said.
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Associated Press writer Eric Tucker contributed to this report.
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