Donald Trump Nominates John Ratcliffe To Be DNI Again

WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 24: Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX) questions former Special Counsel Robert Mueller as he testifies before the House Intelligence Committee about his report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election in the Rayburn House Office Building July 24, 2019 in Washington, DC. Earlier in the day Mueller testified before the House Judiciary Committee. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Ric Grenell’s job as acting Director of National Intelligence may be short-lived. Donald Trump has nominated Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX) to take over the job.

I am pleased to announce the nomination of @RepRatcliffe (Congressman John Ratcliffe) to be Director of National Intelligence (DNI). Would have completed process earlier, but John wanted to wait until after IG Report was finished. John is an outstanding man of great talent!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 28, 2020

As Politico points out, “The Texas Republican was previously announced in July as Trump’s next intel chief, only to be withdrawn later amid concerns over alleged embellishments on his resume.”

Has John Ratcliffe somehow un-lied about rounding up terrorists with his bare hands?
— Adam Parkhomenko (@AdamParkhomenko) February 28, 2020

The alternate way of looking at this: Trump doesn’t actually believe Ratcliffe will be conformed, but letting the nomination languish allows Grenell to stay Acting DNI through the end of his term…. https://t.co/qTGbqz3kEf
— Garrett M. Graff (@vermontgmg) February 28, 2020