President Trump Donald John TrumpSteele Dossier sub-source was subject of FBI counterintelligence probe Pelosi slams Trump executive order on pre-existing conditions: It 'isn't worth the paper it's signed on' Trump 'no longer angry' at Romney because of Supreme Court stance MORE on Friday defended the vetting process at the White House, telling the news media that he allows it to do much of the heavy lifting while simultaneously blaming it for the withdrawal of his nominee to lead intelligence agencies.

Trump spoke to reporters at the White House just hours after he announced he would no longer nominate Rep. John Ratcliffe John Lee RatcliffeHillicon Valley: Subpoenas for Facebook, Google and Twitter on the cards | Wray rebuffs mail-in voting conspiracies | Reps. raise mass surveillance concerns Bipartisan representatives demand answers on expired surveillance programs Democrats call for declassifying election threats after briefing by Trump officials MORE (R-Texas) as director of national intelligence. He lamented that the congressman "is being treated very unfairly by the LameStream Media" and that the nomination process would be "miserable."

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But on the South Lawn, he suggested coverage of his nominees was part of the vetting process.

"I get a name, I give it out to the press and you vet for me. A lot of time you do a very good job. Not always," Trump told reporters. "If you look at the vetting process for the White House, it is very good, but you are part of the vetting process. I give out a name to the press and you vet for me, we save a lot of money that way."

"But in the case of John, I really believe that he was being treated very harshly and very unfairly," he added.

President Trump, asked about the White House's vetting process in regards to Rep. Ratcliffe removing his name from consideration for DNI after his qualifications were called into question:



"I give out a name to the press, and they vet for me... we save a lot of money that way." pic.twitter.com/kYY2bSY7Uc — MSNBC (@MSNBC) August 2, 2019

Ratcliffe's potential nomination was undone as Republican senators expressed unease about Trump's pick, emphasizing that the director of national intelligence should be a nonpartisan post.

Several news reports in recent days have also described Ratcliffe as overstating parts of his biography relating to his work on terrorism cases as a federal prosecutor in Texas.

Ratcliffe is the latest Trump nominee to bow out of consideration amid scrutiny of their record and past remarks.

In the past 15 months, Ronny Jackson withdrew as Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs, Patrick Shanahan Patrick Michael ShanahanHouse Armed Services chairman expresses confidence in Esper amid aircraft carrier coronavirus crisis Boeing pleads for bailout under weight of coronavirus, 737 fallout Esper's chief of staff to depart at end of January MORE bowed out as Defense secretary nominee, Stephen Moore Stephen MooreTrump economist touts nation's low poverty rate Sunday shows - Trump team defends coronavirus response Economist Moore calls on Pelosi, Schumer to 'get a deal done' amid stimulus stalemate MORE and Herman Cain Herman CainThe Hill's 12:30 Report - Presented by Facebook - Big 10 votes to resume football season Exclusive: Internal documents show officials waved red flags before Trump's Tulsa rally Herman Cain account tweets coronavirus 'not as deadly' as claimed after his death from COVID-19 MORE pulled out consideration for the Federal Reserve Board and Heather Nauert took herself out of the running for U.N. ambassador.