Some more backstory on Coats stepping down. As of late last week, it was a done deal. Coats wasn't taken by surprise. A U.S. official tells me he was playing golf Sunday as Trump prepared the official announcement via tweet. washingtonpost.com/world/national…
This comports w/ what Coats wrote in his resignation letter, that he and Trump had already discussed it was time for Coats to move onto his next chapter.
Dems already calling out Ratcliffe as a political operative, suggesting he's not suited to be DNI. Concern on Hill Trump might not appoint deputy DNI Sue Gordon--who Dems like--as acting director. If he does that, "the Hill will raise holy hell," a Congressional official said
I refer back to Ratcliffe's comments to Fox News today as a good indicator where he's coming from on the Mueller investigation and its origins. This was hours before Trump announced him as Coats's replacement. washingtonexaminer.com/news/john-ratc…
On Gordon, she's got enough bipartisan support and is seen as a stabilizing force, so a lot of lawmakers will insist she be acting. And as @BobbyChesney has noted, legally that's exactly what has to happen. Unclear why Trump indicated he'd be announcing an acting.
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