Jay Clayton was sworn in Monday as the U.S. director of national intelligence, cementing the senior federal prosecutor’s control over the nation’s sprawling intelligence apparatus as the Iran war intensifies and the country hurdles toward November’s midterm elections.

Clayton, who was narrowly confirmed by the Senate last week after a combative confirmation hearing, previously served as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

He was nominated in June by President Donald Trump to head the intelligence community after his predecessor, Tulsi Gabbard, resigned from the Cabinet-level position in May, ending her turbulent tenure.

Gabbard cited health concerns about her husband, who had been diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer, at the time of her resignation. Trump then appointed Bill Pulte as acting DNI, a move that was met with swift bipartisan backlash due to Pulte’s lack of intelligence experience. Republican Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who initially pushed back against Todd Blanche’s nomination to attorney general, also appeared concerned about Pulte and indicated they would not vote to confirm him.

Trump ultimately opted to not nominate Pulte to the role permanently, saying that his appointment was always meant to be temporary. Clayton’s nomination was initially met with broad bipartisan support, with Democratic lawmakers eager to replace Pulte, who ordered multiple rounds of layoffs across the Office of the Director of National Intelligence during his brief time directing the agency.

But that support swiftly eroded after Clayton refused under oath to directly state that Trump lost the 2020 presidential election to former President Joe Biden during his July 16 confirmation hearing. That stoked fear among Democratic lawmakers, who have voiced concern that Trump will  unlawfully ask Clayton to help him improperly sway, discredit or steal this fall’s midterm elections.

Clayton also stumbled during a series of questions about whether he knew Gabbard attended the FBI raid of the election office in Fulton County, Georgia, earlier this year. Local officials, including Republicans, have said that raid was an illegal attempt by Trump to prove long-debunked conspiracy theories that he won in Georgia in 2020. 

Clayton refused to answer when pressed by lawmakers over why he signed off on the subpoenas that were delivered to the homes of New York Times reporters who wrote a story about the safety issues surrounding Trump’s new Qatari-funded Air Force One. Those subpoenas, which critics argued were a severe violation of press freedom, have since been withdrawn.

Clayton also declined to criticize Trump’s pardon of the former president of Honduras, whom his office had convicted of smuggling thousands of pounds of cocaine into the U.S.

All Senate Democrats voted against confirming Clayton to the position in the chamber-wide vote last week.

“The safety and security of the American people will be our North Star, and we will work to make sure the American people have complete confidence in the IC through proper oversight, transparency, and accountability,” Clayton said after taking the oath of office. “This includes ensuring the vital work of our IC is never weaponized for political motives.”

Clayton also added that he is “deeply grateful” to Trump.

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