IT’S OFFICIAL!

President Donald Trump announced that Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats will be stepping down and be replaced by Texas Rep. John Ratcliffe:

I am pleased to announce that highly respected Congressman John Ratcliffe of Texas will be nominated by me to be the Director of National Intelligence. A former U.S. Attorney, John will lead and inspire greatness for the Country he loves. Dan Coats, the current Director, will…. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 28, 2019

Coats will reportedly leave on August 15 and the president will name an Acting Director until Rep. Ratcliffe is confirmed by the Senate:

….be leaving office on August 15th. I would like to thank Dan for his great service to our Country. The Acting Director will be named shortly. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 28, 2019

Axios was the first to report the news on Sunday:

SCOOP: Trump is expected to nominate Texas Rep. John Ratcliffe, one of the Republicans who grilled Robert Mueller in last week's hearing, to replace Dan Coats as director of national intelligence. https://t.co/MahUchazGS — Axios (@axios) July 28, 2019

According to Politico’s Natasha Bertrand, Rep. Devin Nunes was offered the job but turned it down:

? I’m told Nunes was offered the job but turned it down & would want an intel job, like CIA Director, post 2020 if Trump is re elected. Per Axios Ratcliffe is now the front runner, though there’s been some concern that he’s too inexperienced to be confirmed. https://t.co/xxkEP4tygN — Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) July 28, 2019

Yes, he was mayor of Heath, TX. But for some reason this guy left out Rep. Ratcliffe’s stint as the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas:

Before becoming DNI, Jim Clapper had worked in U.S. intelligence for nearly fifty years and personally headed two of the nation's 17 intel agencies. By comparison, John Ratcliffe was the mayor of Heath, Texas, pop., 8000. https://t.co/tHKA7B3uCp — Garrett M. Graff (@vermontgmg) July 28, 2019

According to the NYT’s Maggie Haberman, Coats “has been ready to leave for some time, but did not want to look like he was being forced out”:

Coats has been ready to leave for some time, but did not want to look like he was being forced out after Trump was angry over Coats' reaction to a Trump invitation to Washington to Putin https://t.co/uc42Aik3Cn — Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) July 28, 2019

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