President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats is stepping down and that he’d be nominating Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX) to replace Coats.
“I am pleased to announce that highly respected Congressman John Ratcliffe of Texas will be nominated by me to be the Director of National Intelligence,” Trump tweeted.
….be leaving office on August 15th. I would like to thank Dan for his great service to our Country. The Acting Director will be named shortly.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 28, 2019
Trump’s relationship with Coats has been on the rocks for months now, with the two men arguing over Trump’s comments about Russian President Vladimir Putin and the President’s questionable attempts to get North Korea to denuclearize.
On the other hand, Ratcliffe spent his time during special counsel Robert Mueller’s House Judiciary hearing on Wednesday vigorously defending Trump’s honor, an act of loyalty that Trump frequently gravitates toward.
