Trump's pick for CIA chief pledges not to let politics skew intelligence findings
John Ratcliffe, Trump’s choice for CIA director, promised senators he would not inject partisan politics into the spy agency’s work or impose political litmus tests on employees.
President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the CIA promised senators Wednesday he would not impose political litmus tests on the agency’s workforce or force employees to place loyalty to Trump over the country.
Trump has repeatedly portrayed the CIA and other spy agencies as corrupt institutions carrying out a political agenda. But John Ratcliffe, the former Texas congressman chosen by Trump to lead the spy service, spoke in respectful terms about its work at his Senate confirmation hearing and vowed he would not purge employees because of perceived political beliefs.
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., vice chair of the Intelligence Committee, asked Ratcliffe for reassurances “that you will resist efforts to fire or force out career CIA employees because of their perceived political views and that you will not ask these employees to place loyalty to a political figure above loyalty to country.”
Ratcliffe said that he never had that approach as director of national intelligence (DNI) in Trump’s first term in office and that he would not engage in a partisan overhaul as CIA director.
“If you look at my record and my record as DNI, that never took place. That is never something anyone alleged,” he said. “It’s something that I would never do.”
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