On Sunday, August 2, 2026, BeinCrypto reported that Jay Clayton, the former SEC chairman who authorized the agency’s landmark lawsuit against Ripple Labs, has taken office as the United States’ Director of National Intelligence.
The Senate confirmed Clayton by a 51-47 vote, and Bill Pulte, who had been serving as acting DNI since June while simultaneously leading the Federal Housing Finance Agency, announced the transition on Saturday. Clayton officially assumed the role on Monday.
Clayton’s tenure at the SEC ended in December 2020, but not before the agency filed suit against Ripple on his final full day in office, seeking $1.3 billion in penalties. The complaint also named Ripple executives Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen, alleging they personally sold roughly $600 million worth of XRP.
The case dragged on for nearly four years before U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres issued a split ruling, finding that only Ripple’s institutional sales violated securities law. Torres fined the company $125,035,150 and barred it from repeating those sales. Both parties dropped their appeals in August 2025, bringing the litigation to a close with the fine intact.
Clayton’s new intelligence post carries no authority over the SEC, cryptocurrency regulation, or XRP specifically. Markets reflected that reality: XRP saw little movement following the announcement, trading near $1.08 on Sunday, up 1.9% for the day. The token remains down 64% over the past year.
Clayton’s confirmation came just hours after Pulte announced a fifth round of staff cuts at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, describing it as an approximately 30% staff reduction from prior weeks, though he did not disclose exact figures.
The downsizing effort began under former DNI Tulsi Gabbard, who had proposed cutting ODNI’s workforce by 40% and its budget by $700 million before resigning in June. Congressional aides told the Washington Post that roughly 200 staffers left or were reassigned since June 1.
In his farewell statement, Pulte credited the restructuring as a central achievement of his brief tenure, thanking President Trump for the chance to serve while overseeing declassification efforts and what he called “right-sizing” the agency.
Whether Clayton continues the cuts remains uncertain. During his confirmation hearing, he told senators he favors a “fairly lean” ODNI but committed to reviewing some of the reductions, describing his intended approach as akin to a “board of directors” role focused on oversight and conflict resolution.
Pulte now returns full-time to the FHFA, where he has previously directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to factor cryptocurrency holdings into mortgage assessments.
Source: BeinCrypto
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