The Senate is due to begin voting as early as Monday on the nomination of Manhattan US attorney Jay Clayton, Donald Trump’s pick to be the top US spy, and he is expected to be approved within days despite a tense confirmation hearing. If approved to be the director of national intelligence, Clayton would fill a role vacated in June when Tulsi Gabbard stepped down after a tenure marked by clashes with congressional Democrats, who accused her of advancing Trump’s political agenda and promoting debunked election claims.
The Senate is due to hold a procedural vote on Monday evening on whether to advance Clayton’s nomination for the job overseeing the nation’s 18 intelligence agencies, reported. The position of DNI was created after the 11 September 2001 attacks to coordinate the country’s sprawling intelligence apparatus.
Many senators are eager for Clayton to take up the post because they are unhappy with the interim director of national intelligence, Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte, a Trump loyalist without national security experience who has been cutting staff at the agency. If Clayton wins a majority in the 100-member Senate on the procedural vote, a final confirmation vote is expected later in the week. Trump’s Republicans, who have a 53-47 majority in the chamber and rarely break from the White House, are expected to provide Clayton with enough votes for confirmation.
What else is happening in Washington?
The Pentagon updated its official war casualty database over the weekend, adding more than 140 wounded service members. The Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) also introduced a new casualty labeled “Overseas Operations” for personnel killed and wounded “starting July 7”. According to the updated database, the official toll for the earlier phase of the war, known as Operation Epic Fury, now stands at 14 service members killed and more than 400 wounded in action.
Jeffries’s Republican party has “nothing to run on” for the congressional elections after the president broke promises to lower costs and avoid starting war overseas, he has said. The House minority leader, a New York congressman, made those comments on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday, exactly 100 days from the 3 November midterms, when Jeffries and his fellow Democrats are aiming to take control of the US House and Senate from their Republican opponents.
On Sunday, said that , the New York City mayor, is “fomenting hate” by calling the Israeli prime minister a war criminal who should be arrested over ’s war in Gaza if he visits the city for the United Nations general assembly.
Tom Homan, the Trump administration “border czar”, on Sunday said he did not believe the Immigration and Customs Enforcement () officer at the center of a recent fatal shooting in Maine “should have ever cleared vetting”. Speaking to CNN’s State of the Union, Homan was asked by host Dana Bash about the officer’s eligibility to serve following that two of his ex-wives had him of abuse.
Pop star has condemned the Trump White House after it used her hit song Firework in a TikTok video showing US military strikes on Iranian targets, saying she never approved the use of her music. The White House , which featured Firework playing over footage of a missile striking an Iranian naval ship, has amassed more than 6 million views. The post was captioned: “Iran has been warned.”
New Jersey governor Mikie Sherrill recently a new law prohibiting businesses from using shoppers’ personal information to charge different prices for identical products, making her state the third in the US to ban the practice. The Fair Price Protection Act passed by New Jersey’s legislature seeks to protect consumers from surveillance pricing, in which retailers can use data including online activity, location and purchasing history to arbitrarily change prices for individual shoppers.
The White House released an AI-generated video on Sunday night on the social media platform X, depicting President Donald Trump as Rick Sanchez from the Cartoon Network series Rick and Morty. In the video, Trump as Rick is running around the grounds of the White House, with what appears to be Vice-President JD Vance depicted as his grandson Morty. The video makes a reference to Trump taking a third term in office, which the . The video has, at this moment, 6.3 million views on X.
How is Trump using the economy message in Michigan?
President plans to tout his handling of the economy during a visit to suburban Detroit today, defending sweeping tariffs in a swing state where their effects have hurt many businesses as midterm election season heats up.
Trump is visiting a General Motors facility in Milford, home to tracks and proving grounds for new models and vehicles. Early voting is underway for Michigan’s 4 August primary, which features fierce nomination fights in both major political parties, AP reported.
Republican Mike Rogers is unopposed in the Senate primary, but the GOP gubernatorial contest pits Trump-backed John James against Perry Johnson, a businessman turned politician who has launched unsuccessful campaigns before, including for president in 2024. Johnson is now trying to style himself in the president’s mold - despite missing out on his endorsement.
Jeffries on Sunday argued that was because it is a more comfortable strategy to adopt rather than confront how the US and Israeli militaries began with Iran in February after Trump won a second presidency in 2024 having “not to start … endless wars in the Middle East”.
The costs of the war have included the of 18 US troop members as of Sunday, along with injuries to hundreds more. Gas and grocery prices have also amid the conflict, leaving 95% of Americans believing that the US is suffering an affordability crisis, according to exclusive conducted for .
Key Facts
- The Senate is expected to begin voting as early as Monday on Jay Clayton’s nomination to be director of national intelligence.
- Clayton would replace Tulsi Gabbard, who stepped down in June after clashes with congressional Democrats.
- The Senate is scheduled to hold a procedural vote on Monday evening, with a final confirmation vote possible later in the week.
- Trump’s Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the 100-member Senate.
- The DNI role was created after the 11 September 2001 attacks to coordinate the US intelligence apparatus.
