President-elect Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that he is selecting John Ratcliffe, the former Director of National Intelligence, to lead the Central Intelligence Agency.
Trump said in a statement that Ratcliffe “will be a fearless fighter for the Constitutional Rights of all Americans, while ensuring the Highest Levels of National Security, and PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH.”
Ratcliffe, a former congressman representing Texas’ 4th District, was awarded the National Security Medal by Trump in 2020 after he spoke out against the FBI and Robert Mueller’s special counsel investigation into the spurious claims of Trump’s ties to Russia.
Shortly before the 2020 election, Ratcliffe declassified information about the 2016 election that suggested Hillary Clinton’s campaign approved a plan to “stir up a scandal” against Trump that tied him to the Russians.
“From exposing fake Russian collusion to be a Clinton campaign operation, to catching the FBI’s abuse of Civil Liberties at the FISA Court, John Ratcliffe has always been a warrior for Truth and Honesty with the American Public,” Trump added.
Before his time in Congress, Ratcliffe served as the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas.
He was a congressman for five years before he was tapped by Trump to become the Director of National Intelligence in 2020.
Ratcliffe was also floated as a potential pick for Trump’s attorney general.
The new Trump administration is quickly taking shape as the president named people for multiple positions this week, including:
former Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) as the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., and former Arkansas Republican Gov. Mike Huckabee as the U.S. ambassador to Israel.
