President Donald Trump on Tuesday indicated he's willing to fight to confirm Rep. John Ratcliffe as the next director of national intelligence despite growing concern among intelligence officials and on Capitol Hill – including within his own party – that the Texas Republican does not have the experience necessary to manage the critical work of America's spy agencies.

"He's a very talented guy. He's a strong man. It's what I need in that position," Trump told reporters on the White House's south lawn Tuesday morning of the three-term congressman, who served for a year as a U.S. attorney and for eight years as mayor of Heath, Texas, population 7,000.

Trump has faced criticism throughout his administration for favoring loyalty to his agenda more than impartial service in the interest of the country as a whole. Dan Coats, the outgoing DNI, was seen by many as the last of Trump's national security advisers willing to give the president unvarnished advice and counsel, following the departure of officials such as Jim Mattis, H.R. McMaster, Rex Tillerson and John Kelly.

Later on Tuesday Trump added that Ratcliffe was the man for the job because "the intelligence agencies have run amok," without adding further details. Trump has regularly criticized information that contradicts his own assertions, such as the lead intelligence agencies' conclusion that Russia meddled in the 2016 election.

Indeed many on Capitol Hill have expressed concern about Ratcliffe's recent statements and that he has insufficient professional intelligence experience. As a congressman he joined the House Intelligence Committee earlier this year and serves on the House Homeland Security Committee, but not on its intelligence subcommittee.

If formally nominated, Ratcliffe would likely face questions about his reportedly embellishing his professional record. His website, for example, claims he has "put terrorist sympathizers in prison," though no corresponding records appear to exist .

Ratcliffe's qualifications – or lack of them – have prompted Republican Senate leaders to hesitate to immediately endorse Trump's decision.

However many of them praised Coats, who will step down as DNI next month. The former senator from Indiana and ambassador to Germany was himself an unprecedented pick for the position, created in the aftermath of the intelligence failures that led to the Sept. 11 attacks, and only held by five other men whose careers were steeped in foreign affairs and intelligence work. But Coats proved himself an able arbiter of intelligence issues across the executive branch, Capitol Hill and federal agencies.

Leading Democrats have come out staunchly against Ratcliffe, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, of New York. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, of California, who until 2015 served as chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said Tuesday she was "very concerned" about Trump's pick.

"By law, this position requires 'extensive national security expertise.' Congressman Ratcliffe appears to lack the experience needed for the job," Feinstein said. "This isn't a learn-as-you-go position and shouldn't be given out to political supporters."

National Security Action, an organization founded by former Obama administration officials now advising 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, said in a statement Tuesday that Trump's pending nomination "threatens to turn over our nation's most guarded secrets to a uniquely unqualified partisan operative with a habit of attacking the institution he seeks to lead. Ratcliffe has consistently placed Trump's personal and political interests over those of the American people, embellishing his own credentials in the process."

In his remarks Tuesday afternoon Trump added that he spoke with Ratcliffe months before the Texas Republican took on the mantle of questioning the reputation of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his fellow investigators' findings into Russian interference into Trump's campaign and White House operations. That timeline colors Ratcliffe's remarks Sunday morning, before Trump made the announcement about his nomination, that the government should investigate the Obama administration for what he believes were leaks of classified National Security Agency intercepts that helped initiate the Russia investigation.

Though as DNI Ratcliffe would not have any prosecutorial clout, the relative newness of the position could allow him to maneuver it toward influencing the future operations of organizations like the NSA.

"He could squabble with the head of an agency, and with the president's backing, could prevail," says David Priess, a former CIA officer who regularly briefed top White House officials during his tenure under the Bill Clinton and George W. Bush administrations.

If confirmed, Ratcliffe's success to many will depend in part on whether he asks Sue Gordon, the career intelligence officer and well respected current deputy DNI, to remain in her position.

However Priess says the circumstances of Ratcliffe's pending nomination raise troubling questions about how he would oversee the intelligence agencies, particularly in contrast to Coats' experience.

"Comparing that to this congressman, whose qualifications – for the president – appear to be limited to his criticisms of the Mueller investigation, certainly puts a different spin on the perceived qualifications for the positions that previous presidents have had," Priess says. "It's always good to have somebody who actually understands intelligence."

