Trump Again Nominates Ratcliffe as Spy Chief
Trump selected the Texas Republican to become director of national intelligence last year but faced widespread opposition over the congressman’s lack of related experience.
By Paul D. Shinkman, Senior Writer, National Security Feb. 28, 2020, at 6:19 p.m.
Trump Nominates Ratcliffe as Spy Chief
Rep. John Ratcliffe speaks during the House impeachment inquiry hearings in Washington in December. Trump has nominated Ratcliffe again to be nation's top intelligence official. (The Associated Press)
President Donald Trump announced Friday he would nominate Rep. John Ratcliffe to become the next director of national intelligence, turning again to the Texas Republican whose nomination for the role Trump withdrew last summer following broad criticism regarding his lack of experience.
The nomination late Friday evening comes at a time of deep scrutiny into the role of spy chief within Trump's administration, following his appointing two acting directors instead of formally nominating a permanent replacement to Dan Coats, who resigned from the position in August.
In making the announcement on Twitter, Trump called Ratcliffe "an outstanding man of great talent!"
The president reportedly clashed with his prior acting director, former Navy SEAL Vice Adm. Joseph Maguire, over intelligence assessments that Russia plans to attempt to interfere in the 2020 election.
Former U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell has been serving as the new acting DNI but said almost immediately after taking over the job last week that he would not seek a permanent nomination to the role.
Following rare bipartisan agreement from Congress in July that Ratcliffe did not have the requisite intelligence experience to take over as DNI, Trump initially said he'd fight for his nominee before ultimately bowing to pressure from Capitol Hill.
Ratcliffe is an outspoken supporter of the president and reportedly has a good relationship with him. Trump has increasingly turned to insiders to manage the intelligence agencies, which he has frequently criticized as politically biased and – as he said when nominating Ratcliffe last summer – "run amok."
It was not immediately clear why Trump believed he would have congressional support for Ratcliffe's nomination, which would require approval by the Senate and its intelligence committee. Trump reportedly feels more politically empowered following his acquittal by the Senate on articles of impeachment earlier this month and because no clear front-runner has emerged among Democratic hopefuls for the presidency.