Trump picks former top US spy John Ratcliffe to lead CIA

By Patricia Zengerle

(Reuters) -U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said on Tuesday he had picked John Ratcliffe, a close ally who was director of national intelligence at the end of his first term, to serve as director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Ratcliffe served as the nation’s top spy 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.

“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 U.S. election.

When Ratcliffe was confirmed as DNI in 2020 by the Republican-majority Senate, all Democratic senators voted against his nomination, citing his lack of experience and partisanship.

With Republicans again controlling the chamber next year, and months of experience as DNI, he is expected to be easily approved this time.

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.

It was the second time Trump nominated Ratcliffe for the post. He was the most junior member of the House Intelligence Committee, with just six months on the panel, when Trump first said he wanted to appoint him in July 2019.

Trump quickly abandoned Ratcliffe’s first nomination when members of Congress worried he was too inexperienced and too partisan. But Republicans supported Ratcliffe when Trump picked him again, saying the office of DNI was too important to be filled with only acting officials.

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.

The Republican-led Senate later acquitted Trump, the only U.S. president to be impeached twice.

Trump has had a rocky relationship with intelligence agencies, including the CIA, accusing their employees of being part of the “deep state,” his term for career federal employees he accuses of pursuing their own agendas.