Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly says President Donald Trump’s latest nominee to serve as director of national intelligence is an improvement over the president’s last appointee.
But as Kelly, a Democrat, told CBS over the weekend, Jay Clayton also lacks the relative experience needed to run the United States intelligence community.
"The statute for this job says somebody will have extensive national security or intelligence experience. Does he have that? I think it’s pretty clear he does not. Is he better than Bill Pulte? Yes," Kelly said.
Pulte was widely panned for his lack of any experience in national security, and his role as a political attack dog for the president.
Clayton is due to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday.
The announcement follows Trump's decision to nominate an ally and political attack dog to serve as acting director. The pick sparked a backlash that doomed efforts to renew a key intelligence tool.
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