Maine Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King on Wednesday lightly probed John Ratcliffe, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the CIA, during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee.
Ratcliffe, a former Republican congressman from Texas, served as director of national intelligence at the tail end of Trump’s first term. Back then he faced questions about politicizing the agency in service of Trump, who he had defended during the former president’s first impeachment trial.
He was the first national intelligence director confirmed on a partisan vote since the post was created in 2005.
But now Ratcliffe is viewed as a less contentious pick in the context of Trump’s other Cabinet nominees. And his confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday showed it.
When Collins, a Republican, asked about inaccurate or missed intelligence assessments in Ukraine, Afghanistan and the Middle East, Ratcliffe echoed others in the GOP who have suggested the CIA had been hobbled by diversity, equity and inclusion mandates during the Biden administration.
“If you have a politically motivated, bureaucratically imposed social justice agenda that takes up part of your attention, that can distract from the core mission of extracting human intelligence that matters and providing it to you in a timely way,” he said.
King is an independent who joined Democrats in opposing Ratcliffe’s confirmation in 2020, citing concerns about his inexperience and partisanship. Ratcliffe attempted to downplay those concerns nearly five years ago, but was later criticized for selectively declassifying intelligence information that was later used to attack Hillary Clinton, Trump’s election opponent in 2016.
King again sought assurances from the prospective spy chief that he wouldn’t suppress or manipulate intelligence to serve Trump or partisan interests. Ratcliffe indicated that he wouldn’t.
The Senate is expected to vote on Ratcliffe’s confirmation as early as next week.
This article appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.
