Trump Says Ratcliffe No Longer His Pick for Intelligence Chief

Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas) questions former Special Counsel Robert Mueller as he testifies before the House Intelligence Committee about his report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington on July 24, 2019. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

President Donald Trump announced on Aug. 2 that Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas)—his initial nomination to fill the role of director of national intelligence (DNI)—has decided to stay in Congress instead.

The latest development came days after Trump said Daniel Coats, the then DNI, would be leaving his office in the coming weeks and would be replaced by Ratcliffe. Trump said that he would be announcing his new nomination for DNI shortly.