In another Thursday night vote, the Senate approved the nomination of James Clapper to be director of national intelligence, overseeing the nation’s 16 major intel organizations. Clapper, a retired Air Force lieutenant general with years of experience in the intelligence realm, succeeds Dennis Blair, who resigned from the position in May. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) earlier this week had temporarily blocked Clapper’s vote, pending receipt of a classified intelligence report that was subsequently provided. Clapper previously served as under secretary of defense for intelligence. (For more, see Politico report and Associated Press report.)
In the final few hours before the Senate adjourned for its Memorial Day recess on May 26, lawmakers approved a raft of some 3,400 pending military nominations, including a number of high-profile Air Force and Space Force generals to assignments that will significantly reshape some of the upper echelons of…