Dan Coats (L) & John Ratcliffe (R). (Image: The Ohio Star)

Director of the U.S National Intelligence to leave Trump's administration

Alfonsus Adi Putra
Politics & Economic
Politics
Jul 29, 2019
1940
WASHINGTON - Another figure decided to step down from Trump’s administration. On Sunday (28/7), the President of the United States, Donald Trump, tweeted that the Director of U.S National Intelligence, Dan Coats, would step down from his position starting mid-August.

Ever since becoming the President of the United States, Trump & Dan Coats had been at each other’s throat ever since. Dan Coats assumed office as the fifth Director of National Intelligence in March 2017, succeeding James Clapper.

National Intelligence of the U.S was formed after the incident of 11 September 2001 (9/11). The division is responsible for 17 intelligence agencies of the U.S including the CIA & NSA.

Coats were not contented with how the Russians interfere with the 2016’s election that saw Trump as the winner. Moreover, the former Republican senator often disagrees personally and publicly with Trump’s approach to settle denuclearization between the U.S and North Korea (N. Korea). While Trump said that N. Korea was no longer a threat, Coats predicted that N. Korea would not give up its nuclear that easily.

Trump also kept criticizing Coats’ work. In January, Trump referred to Coats as “passive and naïve” when it comes to assessing Iranian threat.

Therefore, with all the repercussions and differences in the political views between the two, Coats decided to step down from the position. Especially, judging by the condition, Coats felt cornered and secluded by Trump when it comes to national security matters.

For instance, in 2018, Coats just found out that Trump would meet the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, in Helsinki. He pointed out that had he known first, he would have suggested a better approach. Cannot cry over spilled milk.

However, Coats appreciated the years spent while assuming the position, referring to it as a “distinct privilege”. For Coats, the U.S intelligence has become the strongest at present.

As the replacement for Coats, Trump stated that he would nominate John Ratcliffe for the position. Ratcliffe has been working as a congressman for Texas's 4th district since 2015. Ratcliffe and Trump seem to be two peas in a pod, and their ideas seem to align with each other.

Ratcliffe recently defended Donald Trump last Wednesday (24/7) when U.S Special Counsel, Robert Mueller, testified his finding from his investigation to Russian’s intervention on 2016 U.S Presidential Election.

Mueller stated that Trump was not found innocent of obstruction of justice, which was later bashed by Ratcliffe who said that the Special Counsel did not have the rights nor authority to determine Trump’s status.

Therefore, some politicians criticized Ratcliffe’s nomination as the “reward” for his “blind loyalty” to Trump.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49147365

Politics , U.S , Dan-Coats , Intelligence , CIA , NSA , Donald-Trump , Russia , John-Ratcliffe