US President-elect Donald Trump said on Tuesday he had picked former director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe to serve as director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Earlier, there was speculation that Kash Patel, an Indian-origin former Republican House staffer, might be appointed as CIA chief. However, Trump has now announced John Ratcliffe as the chief of the CIA.
Ratcliffe, a close ally of Trump, served as director of national intelligence from late May 2020 until Trump left office in January 2021. More recently, he was co-chair of the Center for American Security, a think tank advocating Trump positions, and advised the former Republican president on national security policy during his 2024 campaign.
Trump on John Ratcliffe
Speaking highly of Ratcliffe, Trump said, "From exposing fake Russian collusion to be a Clinton campaign operation, to catching the FBI's abuse of Civil Liberties at the FISA Court, John Ratcliffe has always been a warrior for Truth and Honesty with the American Public."
"When 51 intelligence officials were lying about Hunter Biden's laptop, there was one, John Ratcliffe, telling the truth to the American People," he added.
"For these and many other reasons, it was my great honour in 2020 to award John the National Security Medal, the nation's highest honour for distinguished achievement in the field of Intelligence and National Security," he said.
"I look forward to John being the first person ever to serve in both of our Nation’s highest Intelligence positions. 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," Trump said in a statement announcing the nomination.
Ratcliffe, a former member of the House of Representatives, promised at his confirmation hearing to be DNI in May 2020 that he would provide "objective and timely intelligence" in the position. He also said he would closely monitor other issues like Iran's military, North Korea's nuclear weapons program and foreign interference in the US election.
Who is John Ratcliffe?
Ratcliffe previously served as the sixth director of National Intelligence (DNI). In this role, he served as the leader of the US intelligence community and principal intelligence advisor to President Trump in his first term.
His position as DNI also made him responsible for detecting and countering foreign efforts to interfere in American politics. That experience makes him a more traditional pick for the job, which requires Senate confirmation, than some rumoured loyalists pushed by some of Trump’s supporters.
Prior to his nomination and confirmation as DNI, Director Ratcliffe served in Congress for over five years as the US representative for the 4th Congressional District of Texas. As a Congressman he was a leading policy maker on national security issues as a member of the House Intelligence and Judiciary Committee and as Cybersecurity chairman on the Homeland Security Committee.
Ratcliffe had represented a Texas congressional district since 2015 and served on the House intelligence and judiciary committees. He became known as an outspoken defender of Trump during the Democratic-led proceedings that resulted in Trump's 2019 impeachment on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
Critic of Biden Mideast policy, China hawk
More recently, Ratcliffe has criticized how Democratic President Joe Biden's administration has approached the conflict in the Middle East. In an article published in June, he argued that Biden's threat to withhold weapons shipments to Israel over its military actions in Gaza had put a key ally at risk. He also argued that the administration had not been tough enough on Iran.
Ratcliffe also positioned himself as a China hawk during his tenure as DNI. "The intelligence is clear: Beijing intends to dominate the U.S. and the rest of the planet economically, militarily and technologically," Ratcliffe wrote in a December 2020 article in the Wall Street Journal.
As DNI, Democrats and former intelligence officials accused him of declassifying intelligence to benefit Trump and his Republican allies. They claimed he used this information to attack political opponents, including Biden, then Trump's rival for the presidency. Ratcliffe's office denied this charge.
(With agencies input)
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