GOP senators are cool to Trump’s pick
WASHINGTON >> Republicans hesitated Monday to embrace President Donald Trump’s choice for the director of national intelligence, and some privately expressed doubts about his potential confirmation, echoing concerns of experts and Democrats that he was too inexperienced and too partisan.
Trump’s pick, Rep. John Ratcliffe of Texas, could face an uphill battle, Senate Republicans said in private conversations. Several said they wanted to keep the intelligence post apolitical, and Ratcliffe will need to show he can move beyond the diehard conservative persona that has made him a star in the House and on Fox News.
Republicans on the Senate Intelligence Committee, including its chairman, Richard M. Burr of North Carolina, said they were unfamiliar with the congressman. “I don’t know John Ratcliffe,” Burr said. “I talked to him on the phone last night — it’s the first contact I’ve ever had with him. I look forward to getting to know him, and if I get an official nomination, I’ll process it through the committee.”
One of Trump’s most ardent defenders, Ratcliffe was elected to Congress in 2014 after mounting a conservative primary challenge to a 17-term Republican incumbent.
Ratcliffe’s main intelligence experience has come as a member of the House Intelligence Committee, which he joined this year. But his record is one of combat in the most partisan intelligence and judicial fights. A relentless critic of the Russia investigation, he ably challenged Robert Mueller during his House testimony last week and has cast doubt on the CIA’s finding that Moscow favored Trump the 2016 election.
With Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., almost certain to oppose any nominee to the position, Republicans can only afford to lose two more yes votes.