President Donald Trump on Friday withdrew his plan to nominate Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas) to serve as the next director of national intelligence after lawmakers raised questions over his qualifications, the New York Times reported Friday.
Trump announced in late July that Ratcliffe would be his pick to succeed DNI and a 2019 Wash100 winner Dan Coats, who is set to step down on Aug. 15.
Ratcliffe serves on the House Judiciary and Intelligence Committees. He previously served as U.S. attorney of the eastern district of Texas and as a partner at the law firm of former attorney general John Ashcroft.
“I was humbled and honored that the President put his trust in me to lead our nation’s intelligence operations … However, I do not wish for a national security and intelligence debate surrounding my confirmation, however untrue, to become a purely political and partisan issue,†Ratcliffe said in a tweet.
The president vowed to announce his nominee for the DNI post soon. Sources said Pete Hoekstra, the U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands and a former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, is one of the top contenders for the role.
