Intel Chairman Says He'll Vote for Trump’s DNI Pick

Senate Intelligence Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.) gives opening remarks at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing for the nomination of Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas) for director of national intelligence, on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 5, 2020. Andrew Harnik/Pool/AFP/Getty Images

Senate Intelligence Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.) said Tuesday he'll vote for Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas), President Donald Trump’s nominee for director of national intelligence.

Ratcliffe “understands the challenges facing the Intelligence Community in the 21st century and is ready to work to meet them,” Burr said in a statement.

“He is has committed to working with our Committee and with Congress to ensure proper oversight and information sharing. And he has pledged to support the men and women of the Intelligence Community in their steadfast work.”

Burr said he looked forward to advancing the nomination and supporting it when it comes before the full Senate.

The statement came after Ratcliffe answered questions from Burr’s committee in Washington.

Ratcliffe told senators he wouldn’t distort findings if he becomes director of national intelligence (DNI).

Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas) testifies before a Senate Intelligence Committee nomination hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 5, 2020. Andrew Harnik/Pool/Reuters

“Let me be very clear: Regardless of what anyone wants our intelligence to reflect, the intelligence I will provide, if confirmed, will not be impacted or altered as a result of outside influence,“ he told the committee. The intelligence community will be ”laser focused” on finding out how the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus started if he’s confirmed, Ratcliffe said.

The congressman, who was nominated last year for the same position before Trump withdrew the nomination, said he wasn’t sure what Trump meant when he said in 2019 that intelligence agencies had “run amok.”

Asked by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) whether he would convey findings to Trump even he knew Trump disagreed with them and that doing so could cost him his job, he said “of course.”