Ratcliffe Confirmed by Senate to be Director of National Intelligence

Reagan McCarthy Posted: May 21, 2020 1:10 PM

The Senate approved the nomination of GOP Rep. John Ratcliffe to be Director of National Intelligence (DNI) on Thursday afternoon.

President Trump originally nominated Ratcliffe in 2019, but Democrats and members of the mainstream media smeared the Texas Republican for his opposition to Special Counsel Bob Mueller’s investigation and push for accountability within the intelligence community. The two agreed to withdraw the nomination in August of 2019.

While remaining in Congress, Rep. Ratcliffe was a crucial player in the botched impeachment trial for President Trump. After withdrawing Ratcliffe's nomination, President Trump eventually nominated former Ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, to serve as Acting DNI; Grenell has overhauled the intelligence community and exposed corruption within the system.

During his second round of nomination hearings, Rep. Ratcliffe promised to be an objective leader of the intelligence community. He promised to relay "unvarnished" information to President Trump, regardless of whether the president would be pleased, and vowed that whistleblowers would receive full protection under the law, regardless of ideology:

"I want to make it very clear, if confirmed as DNI, every whistleblower past, present and future will enjoy every protection under the law," he said in a nomination hearing.

Ratcliffe was confirmed by the Senate on Thursday by a vote of 49-44:

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/reaganmccarthy/2020/05/21/ratcliffe-confirmed-by-senate