Who Is Texas Rep. John Ratcliffe, Trump Loyalist Named New National Intelligence Director?

On Sunday, President Donald Trump announced he would name Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas) as the new national intelligence director to replace Dan Coats, who will resign from his position on August 15.

Ratcliffe, 53, is a former U.S. Attorney in Texas who has been serving as a congressman for the state’s fourth district since 2015. He is widely seen as a Trump loyalist who reportedly shares the president’s view that the Russians coordinated and conspired with Hillary Clinton‘s campaign during the 2016 election and not with Trump’s. This will likely have a major influence on Ratcliffe’s decision making as the leader of the world’s largest intelligence network who will brief the president on global information-gathering operations and potential security threats.

“From day one, Trump has made his disdain for the intelligence community clear,” Warren tweeted. “Our Director of National Intelligence should be above partisan politics, speak truth to power, and resist Trump’s abuses of authority. John Ratcliffe doesn’t fit that bill.”