Trump’s Polarizing Pick For Spy Chief Has Tough Path In Senate

Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats gained eighty five Senate votes when he was confirmed early in Donald Trump’s presidency. Trump’s selection to replace Coats, Representative John Ratcliffe, in all probability will have to rely exclusively on Republican votes — and even that may very well be a challenge. After Trump announced Coats’ departure and his selection for a substitute on Sunday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell launched a lengthy statement bemoaning the departure of his longtime Senate colleague.

He lauded the intelligence chief’s work safeguarding elections towards Russian meddling and emphasized the necessity for U.S. “deliver unvarnished laborious truths” to the nation’s leaders. Other senior Republican senators including Roy Blunt of Missouri, a member of the Intelligence Committee, additionally praised Coats’ service without commenting on Ratcliffe, a Texas House member and former U.S. Ratcliffe did have one robust early backer, South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham. “Congressman Ratcliffe can be a worthy successor and has my full support,” said Graham, the Senate Judiciary chairman who has become one in every of Trump’s chief allies in Congress.

If Trump sends Ratcliffe’s nomination to the Senate, one Republican particularly will face strain from both sides: Susan Collins of Maine, who has common herself as an unbiased-minded senator. But her votes in favor of Trump nominees has precipitated her poll scores to plummet in her house state, and she faces a tricky re-election battle next yr.

Collins sits on the Intelligence panel, which has eight Republicans and seven Democrats. If the Democrats all stick collectively and a single Republican opposes Ratcliffe, McConnell must maneuver to discharge the nomination with a destructive suggestion — something unprecedented for the post. Senator John Cornyn of Texas, also a member of the Intelligence Committee, mentioned he’s known Ratcliffe for a very long time and will assist the nomination. “I have confidence that John understands the distinction between being a member of Congress” and national intelligence director, Cornyn mentioned, highlighting the nonpartisan nature of the job. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer indicated that Democrats will put up a fight.

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“It’s clear Rep. Ratcliffe was selected as a result of he exhibited blind loyalty to @realDonaldTrump together with his demagogic questioning of Mueller,” Schumer tweeted. Defeating the nomination on the ground would require 4 Republican senators to join each Democrat. Few Republicans today are keen to cross Trump, nonetheless, given his robust standing among the many party’s base.

Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, who served with Ratcliffe within the House, dismissed considerations about Ratcliffe being a purely political pick by Trump. “I remember people stated I’d be too political to be the CIA director,” Pompeo stated in remarks Monday on the Economic Club of Washington. He stated he felt confident that he dispelled such criticism.

“He’s very smart,” Pompeo, who additionally was a staunchly conservative House member before Trump picked him to head the CIA and then the State Department, said of Ratcliffe. “That’s why the president will get so upset by that and why he makes use of the term ‘hoax’ or ‘witch hunt,” Ratcliffe mentioned in an interview with Fox News after Mueller testified to 2 House panels. Ratcliffe, 53, has been a key member of a Republican-led House activity drive pursuing the speculation that anti-Trump bias and assist for Democrat Hillary Clinton tainted the Russia probe early on.

He previously attacked then-Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein over the investigation. Ratcliffe was mayor of Heath, Texas — inhabitants 7,329 in 2010, in accordance with the Census Bureau — from 2004 to 2012. He was the U.S. Eastern District of Texas underneath President George W. Bush. He founded the Austin workplace of the Ashcroft Group, a group of legislation corporations headed by former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft. Since 2015, Ratcliffe has been a member of the U.S. House, representing a sprawling district within the northeast corner of Texas that features all or elements of 18 counties along the bor­der with Oklahoma.

3. Write a title for your web page. 4. Write a subtitle to your web page that includes your identify and grade and what metropolis you the place born in. 5. In your individual phrases write a paragraph that summarizes your expertise with computers and programming earlier than this class started. Posted by Instructor: Seth Wilson at 10:25 PM Email ThisBlogThis!