Feb. 29 (UPI) — President Donald Trump on Friday said he again nominated Rep. John Ratcliffe to be director of national intelligence, several months after the congressman withdrew his name from consideration for the job.
Trump made the announcement on Twitter.
“Would have completed process earlier, but John wanted to wait until after IG Report was finished. John is an outstanding man of great talent!” he tweeted.
Trump first nominated the Texas Republican to replace Dan Coats in July. Coats chose to step down from the position after more than two years on the job.
Ratcliffe stepped aside less than a week later, citing media scrutiny, which targeted his experience. Critics accused the congressman of padding his resume.
“Our great Republican Congressman John Ratcliffe is being treated very unfairly by the LameStream Media. Rather than going through months of slander and libel, I explained to John how miserable it would be for him and his family to deal with these people,” Trump tweeted at the time.
“John has therefore decided to stay in Congress where he has done such an outstanding job representing the people of Texas, and our Country.”
Ratcliffe, 53, has served as the U.S. representative for Texas’ 4th District since 2015 and serves on the House Committee on Intelligence.
He previously worked as a U.S. attorney and federal terrorism prosecutor and as mayor of the city of Heath, Texas.
The position of director of national intelligence was created in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks as a means of fostering inter-agency dialogue and cooperation among the 16 agencies that make up the U.S. intelligence-gathering network.
