Democrats bristle at Trump's repeat DNI choice


Let's try this again.
President Trump said Friday he will nominate Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas) to serve as the United States' next director of national intelligence. It's the second time Trump put the congressman — who is considered an ardent Trump loyalist, and was a very vocal supporter of the president during the House impeachment inquiry — up for the role.
Trump eventually advised Ratcliffe last July not to take the job because he would have "gone through months of slander and libel." It's not entirely clear why that stance has changed, but Ratcliffe is still expected to face confirmation hurdles, as even some Republican lawmakers expressed concern over his credentials and suggested he may be too partisan for the role, which involves matters of national security. A senior administration official, however, told The Wall Street Journal that Republican senators are more open to the idea this time around, presumably because they just want to have someone step into the permanent role.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Democrats will likely resist the nomination. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called him a "highly partisan operative" in a time, he said, where the intelligence needs bipartisan leadership, while Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said it's "hard for me" to see why any concerns about Ratcliffe's partisanship would have changed.
Regardless, one official told the Journal, Trump will get "his guy in the role," even if it's not Ratfcliffe. Read more at NPR and The Wall Street Journal.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Are we entering the post-Brexit era?
Today's Big Question Keir Starmer's 'big bet' with his EU reset deal is that 'nobody really cares' about Brexit any more
-
Ozempic menus: how weight-loss jabs are changing restaurants
In The Spotlight Reduced appetites mean a shift towards smaller portions
-
Canal-boating trips around the UK
The Week Recommends Britain's tranquil waterways are a great place to unwind
-
Biden diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer
speed read The diagnosis hits close to home, as the former president 'dedicated much of his later career to cancer research'
-
Supreme Court weighs court limits amid birthright ban
speed read President Trump's bid to abolish birthright citizenship has sparked questions among federal judges about blocking administration policies
-
Gabbard fires intelligence chiefs after Venezuela report
speed read Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has fired the top two officials leading the National Intelligence Council
-
Trump vows to lift Syria sanctions
speed read The move would help the new government stabilize the country following years of civil war
-
Senate rejects Trump's Library of Congress takeover
speed read Congress resisted the president's attempts to control 'the legislative branch's premier research body'
-
Hamas frees US hostage in deal sidelining Israel
speed read Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old soldier, was the final living US citizen held by the militant group
-
White Afrikaners land in US as Trump-declared refugees
speed read An exception was made to Trump's near-total ban on admitting refugees for the white South Africans
-
Qatar luxury jet gift clouds Trump trip to Mideast
speed read Qatar is said to be presenting Trump with a $400 million plane, which would be among the biggest foreign gifts ever received by the US government