WATCH LIVE: Jay Clayton testifies in confirmation hearing for director of national intelligence

Jay Clayton, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, is testifying Wednesday before the Senate Intelligence Committee in his confirmation hearing for director of national intelligence.

The hearing is set to begin at 9:30 a.m. EDT on July 15. Watch it live in the video player above.

President Donald Trump picked Clayton for the role last month amid pressure from Congress to name Tulsi Gabbard's permanent replacement.

READ MORE: What to know about Jay Clayton, Trump's nominee for director of national intelligence

Trump faced intense pushback over his decision to name Bill Pulte, head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, as acting director after Gabbard announced in May that she was stepping down because of her husband's cancer diagnosis.

The situation led to a standoff in Congress as Democrats said they would refuse to renew foreign intelligence powers unless Trump pulled Pulte's nomination and named a permanent nominee.

This week's confirmation hearing comes nearly a month after Trump declared he was delaying his nomination of Clayton just hours before his initial scheduled hearing in June, despite bipartisan praise for the nominee and Republican efforts to speed him through the confirmation process. Trump formally nominated Clayton to be the permanent director on July 1.