Senate

McConnell says he hasn’t made decision on Trump’s Intel nominee

by Jordain Carney - 03/02/20 7:31 PM ET

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) indicated Monday that he has not decided whether he will support Texas Republican Rep. John Ratcliffee’s nomination to be the next director of national intelligence (DNI).

“I’m waiting to see how the committee process goes. I’m certainly not opposed to him but I want to see how he does before the committee and get a report from Chairman Burr and the rest of them,” McConnell said.

McConnell’s comments, made to CNN, were confirmed by a spokesman.

McConnell also weighed in on Ratcliffe’s nomination during a speech from the Senate floor Monday, saying he was “glad” the administration was sending an individual up to be evaluated by the Senate.

“I hope Congressman Ratcliffe will impress senators, just as did the other members of the President’s team, and earn a bipartisan confirmation vote. I trust Chairman Burr and our colleagues on the Intelligence Committee will oversee a prompt and fair confirmation process and I look forward to meeting the nominee myself,” he added.

President Trump announced late last week that he was going to nominate Ratcliffe to be the next DNI. Ratcliffe, if confirmed, would be the first Senate approved DNI since Dan Coats left the administration in August.

The decision came more than six months after Trump announced, then pulled Ratcliffe’s first nomination to the post amid a lukewarm reception from Republican senators and questions on whether he inflated his resume.

Ratcliffe is expected to face a razor thin margin as he tries to get confirmed in the Senate. Republicans control 53 seats and he’ll need a simple majority.

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Monday urged Republicans to “swiftly” join Democrats in rejecting Ratcliffe’s nomination.

“Rep. Ratcliffe … is a three-term Tea Party congressman. He has shown extreme partisanship in the House. He lacks the experience required to lead a community of 17 intelligence agencies. Because the experience Mr. Ratcliffe does have in Congress has been alarmingly partisan,” he added.

If all Democrats oppose Ratcliffe’s nomination on the Senate floor, he can lose three Republican senators and still be confirmed by having Vice President Pence break a tie.

In a boon for Ratcliffe, Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, is expected to support him, according to his colleagues.

“I talked to Chairman Burr about it today and he’s supportive and I expect to be supportive and I believe he can be confirmed,” Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), a member of leadership and the Senate Intelligence Committee, told reporters.

Burr separately told CNN that he’s “supportive of John Ratcliffe. That’s what the statement said. Period.”

Senate Intel Chairman Richard Burr just told me there is no ambiguity from his measured Friday night statement: He will back John Ratcliffe to be DNI. “I’m supportive of John Ratcliffe. That’s what the statement said. Period.”

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) March 2, 2020

Asked if Burr is supporting Ratcliffe’s nomination, a spokeswoman pointed back to his statement from Friday.

Burr didn’t specifically indicate during his statement last week that he would support Ratcliffe’s nomination but said that he would “look forward to receiving Congressman Ratcliffe’s official nomination and ushering it through the Senate’s regular order.”

Tags Chuck Schumer Dan Coats Donald Trump John Ratcliffe Mitch McConnell Richard Burr Roy Blunt