https://twitter.com/ZcohenCNN/status/1155995948905971712
Trump may go outside the normal protocol to name an acting DNI to serve until Ratcliffe is confirmed, sources tell me,
@PamelaBrownCNN
&
@MarquardtA
.
The admin is reviewing whether it can legally choose an acting director outside the line of succession, per one source.
Two sources added that there's an active search right now for candidates to assume the acting role and it's unlikely the Deputy Director Sue Gordon will be picked.
Sen. Burr, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told CNN he would be “shocked” if Gordon wasn’t selected as acting DNI, per
@jeremyherb
.
“I would be shocked, because that’s what principal deputies are in place for,” he said.
But two sources have told CNN that Gordon is viewed by some in the administration as someone who is not going to be the type of political loyalist Trump wants in that role.
This is probably obvious but should Trump skip over Gordon it would likely further criticism that the he is politicizing the intelligence community at the expense of long serving career professionals.
An ODNI spokesperson also told CNN that the decision is the president’s, despite debate over whether it’s automatically Gordon or not.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/29/politics/trump-may-bypass-protocol-dni/index.html