Trump Says He Will Nominate Texas Rep. John Ratcliffe to Replace Director of National Intelligence

WASHINGTON — Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats is leaving his job next month, ending a two-year tenure marked by President Donald Trump's clashes with intelligence officials.Trump announced Coats' departure on Aug. 15 in a tweet Sunday that thanked Coats for his service. He said he will nominate Rep. John Ratcliffe, R-Texas, to the post and that he will name an acting official in the coming days. Ratcliffe is a frequent Trump defender who fiercely questioned former special counsel Robert Mueller last week during a House Judiciary Committee hearing. Coats often appeared out of step with Trump and disclosed to prosecutors how he was urged by the president to publicly deny any link between Russia and the Trump campaign. The frayed relationship reflected broader divisions between the president and the government's intelligence agencies. Coats' public, and sometimes personal, disagreements with Trump over policy and intelligence included Russian election interference and North Korean nuclear capabilities. Trump had long been skeptical of the nation's intelligence community, which provoked his ire by concluding that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election with the goal of getting him elected.  Continue reading...