Blitz Bureau
WASHINGTON: President-elect Donald Trump named John Ratcliffe as his pick for CIA Director in the next administration. A former congressman from Texas, Ratcliffe was Director of National Intelligence in Trump’s first term, NBC News reported.
“I look forward to John being the first person ever to serve in both of our nation’s highest Intelligence positions,” Trump said in a statement on November 12. “He will be a fearless fighter for the Constitutional Rights of all Americans, while ensuring the Highest Levels of National Security, and PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH,” added the statement.
Ratcliffe, who was the US representative for Texas’ 4th District from 2015 to 2020, was a controversial pick for Director of National Intelligence in Trump’s first term – so much so that the first attempt to install him, in 2019, failed. Ratcliffe had been a federal prosecutor in Texas, and he boasted on his website about having “put terrorists in prison.” NBC News and other news organizations found no evidence that he had ever prosecuted a terrorism case. He also misrepresented his involvement in the US v. Holy Land Foundation terrorism financing case, NBC News previously reported.
In the wake of those stories, Trump announced that Ratcliffe had removed himself from consideration for director of national intelligence. Trump nominated Ratcliffe again in 2020, and the Republican-controlled Senate confirmed him. Congressional aides say Ratcliffe is not likely to face major difficulties being confirmed for the CIA job in another Republican-controlled Senate.
According to the NBC News, former intelligence officers who worked with Ratcliffe said he is a relatively constructive figure compared with some other potential Trump appointees who are more hostile to the spy agencies.
