Jay Clayton, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), told senators on July 15 that the agency should function as a lean oversight body rather than an operational organization, likening it to a corporate board of directors overseeing the nation’s 18-agency intelligence community.
Appearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee for his confirmation hearing on Wednesday, Clayton said ODNI should concentrate on coordinating intelligence agencies, resolving disputes, and setting strategic priorities rather than managing day-to-day intelligence operations. His comments come as the Trump administration continues efforts to reduce the size and scope of the intelligence office through a broader restructuring initiative.
“There needs to be a focal point for coordination across the other 17 intelligence agencies. There needs to be a place of oversight, a place to resolve conflict,” Clayton said. “I look at [ODNI] as a board of directors role, and to the extent that the ODNI has gotten into operations or started to play the roles of some of those other agencies, it probably should pull back, because it’s difficult to be both operations and oversight.”
Clayton said the office should remain “fairly lean” and rely on reporting from intelligence agencies rather than becoming involved in their daily management.
He also pledged to work with lawmakers to establish clear priorities and performance measures for the intelligence community.
“Large multifaceted organizations like our intelligence community work well when they have: one, a commitment to the mission; two, clear strategic objectives that further that mission; and three, metrics that facilitate the assessment and improvement of their operations,” Clayton said.
Efforts to restructure ODNI began in August 2025 when then-Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced the ODNI 2.0 initiative, a plan to reduce the agency’s workforce by nearly 50% by the end of fiscal year 2025. The initiative consolidated functions within the Foreign Malign Influence Center, the National Counterproliferation and Biosecurity Center, and the Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center into ODNI’s Mission Integration directorate and the National Intelligence Council.
At the time, ODNI said it had already reduced its workforce by nearly 30%, with more than 500 employees departing since Gabbard took office.
Most recently, Acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte reportedly dismissed dozens of intelligence officers as part of a broader effort to reduce the agency’s workforce, although ODNI has not publicly confirmed those personnel actions.
At the hearing today, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., urged Clayton to restore the Foreign Malign Influence Center, the National Counterproliferation and Biosecurity Center, and the Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center. Clayton declined to commit to reestablishing the centers but said he would assess whether additional resources or coordination are needed.
“I can commit to making an assessment, and to the extent that more resources are needed, or more focus is needed, or more coordination is needed,” Clayton said.
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said he plans to convene a committee business meeting early next week to vote on Clayton’s nomination and report it to the full Senate.
Pulte has served as acting DNI since former DNI Gabbard stepped down on June 30.