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 is reportedly expected to 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) to replace Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats.

Axios, citing three people familiar with the president's deliberations, reported on the development Sunday. The news outlet noted that Trump was especially enthusiastic about Ratcliffe's questioning of former special counsel Robert Mueller Robert (Bob) MuellerCNN's Toobin warns McCabe is in 'perilous condition' with emboldened Trump CNN anchor rips Trump over Stone while evoking Clinton-Lynch tarmac meeting The Hill's 12:30 Report: New Hampshire fallout MORE during his congressional testimony last week.

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Ratcliffe denounced some of the findings in Mueller's report during a House Judiciary Committee hearing, saying it wasn't Mueller's job to "conclusively determine Donald Trump's innocence."

"I agree with Chairman [Jerrold] Nadler [D-N.Y.] this morning when he said Donald Trump is not above the law," Ratcliffe said. "But he damn sure should not be below the law, which is where Volume 2 of this report puts him."

Advisers to the president told Axios that Trump had already been considering Ratcliffe for the position before Mueller's testimony. Ratcliffe had also reportedly been on Trump's shortlist to replace former Attorney General Jeff Sessions Jefferson (Jeff) Beauregard SessionsRoy Moore sues Alabama over COVID-19 restrictions GOP set to release controversial Biden report Trump's policies on refugees are as simple as ABCs MORE following Sessions's dismissal last November.

CNN reported last week that Ratcliffe has been under consideration for a job in the administration, but the report did not specify which position. Advisers stressed to Axios that Trump could still change his mind about the decision.

Coats is expected to step down from his position in the coming days, people familiar with the decision told The New York Times.

The White House and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill.

Speculation has persisted in recent weeks about whether Coats would leave his position atop the intelligence community. Axios first reported earlier this month that Trump told confidants he was thinking about replacing him.

That was then followed by a report from Politico saying Trump had met with Rep. Devin Nunes Devin Gerald NunesOvernight Defense: Stopgap spending measure awaits Senate vote | Trump nominates former Nunes aide for intelligence community watchdog | Trump extends ban on racial discrimination training to contractors, military Trump nominates former Nunes aide to serve as intel community inspector general Sunday shows preview: Justice Ginsburg dies, sparking partisan battle over vacancy before election MORE (R-Calif.) about potential replacements for Coats.

Coats at the time dismissed the reports about his potential exit, telling The Hill that the "rumors" were "frustrating."

Ratcliffe is a former federal prosecutor who has served in Congress since 2015. He has been repeatedly critical of how Democrats have responded to Mueller's report on his probe into Russia's election interference.

Ratcliffe's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill.

UPDATED 2:38 p.m.