Trump finally got his way and booted Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, and he is replacing him with a partisan stooge who criticized Mueller.
Trump tweeted the announcement:
….be leaving office on August 15th. I would like to thank Dan for his great service to our Country. The Acting Director will be named shortly.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 28, 2019
Trump has been trying to replace Coats since February. Coats was one of the few remaining officials in the Trump administration who would disagree with the president. Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX) got nominated for the job by criticizing Robert Mueller during his congressional testimony.
Senate Democratic Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) laid it out in a statement provided to PoliticusUSA, “It’s clear that Rep. Ratcliffe was selected because he exhibited blind loyalty to President Trump with his demagogic questioning of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller. If Senate Republicans elevate such a partisan player to a position that requires intelligence expertise and non-partisanship, it would be a big mistake.”
Trump is trying to take over the intelligence community
Director Coats was respected by Democrats and Republicans. The man who Trump has nominated to replace him is a partisan hack in the William Barr mode who is being nominated to do Trump’s bidding in overseeing the intelligence community.
At a time when Trump is begging for foreign countries to interfere in the 2020 election to help him, the departure of DNI Coats is bad news for national security.
Trump finally got rid of Coats and replaced him with one of the worst possible options.
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Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
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