Senate moving forward with Clayton hearing despite Trump move to delay

Washington — The Senate is moving forward with Jay Clayton's confirmation hearing on Wednesday, despite President Trump's 11th-hour push to delay the installation of the new director of national intelligence, a move that scrambled Capitol Hill. In an early morning post on Truth Social, Mr. Trump torpedoed the Senate's plan to move ahead quickly with Clayton's nomination with the hope of breaking a logjam on a key spy authority that expired late last week. The president said "we are cancelling the Senate Hearing RE: DNI today," claiming it would not move forward until the Senate approves a replacement for his current role as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Despite the president's demand, the Senate Intelligence Committee is set to proceed with the confirmation hearing, said GOP Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, the committee's chairman. The hearing is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. "Jay Clayton is a pending nominee before the Intelligence Committee. We will proceed with his hearing as scheduled unless the president directs him not to appear or withdraws his nomination," Cotton wrote on X Wednesday morning. Senate Majority Leader John Thune reiterated the message to reporters later Wednesday morning, saying Cotton plans to proceed with the confirmation hearing. "From there on, we'll just have to take it a day at a time," Thune said, until senators get more "clarity" from the White House. Mr. Trump announced Clayton as his pick late last week. …