Sen. Richard Burr, the Republican chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told CNN Monday that he will back the nomination of President Donald Trump’s controversial pick to be the country’s next intelligence chief.
He consulted with the White House before Trump announced his intent to renominate Rep. John Ratcliffe as the next director of national intelligence, according to two people familiar with the dynamic.
“I’m supportive of John Ratcliffe. That’s what the statement said. Period,” Burr said, pushing back on suggestions that the statement he released Friday after Trump’s announcement was unclear.
Asked what changed from last year when Ratcliffe was first nominated and GOP senators had concerns then, Burr said: “There was a different pathway in the Senate. I don’t think anybody has changed their opinion of John Ratcliffe. What changed is the pathway to get somebody confirmed. If Democrats want to vote against him and have (Richard) Grenell stay on as acting is fine with me.”
But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Monday withheld his judgment on Ratcliffe as the DNI nominee, saying he would wait to see how the Texas Republican performs during his confirmation proceedings before the Senate Intelligence Committee.
Asked if he supports Ratcliffe, McConnell told CNN, “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.”
Burr, who has expressed displeasure about the fact that an acting director has been in the position since Dan Coats resigned last August, has adopted a notably different attitude toward Ratcliffe than he maintained last summer, when he warned the White House that the Texas congressman was too political for the job.
Trump ignored that advice and tapped Ratcliffe for the top intelligence position anyway, only to drop the pick later amid bipartisan concerns about his qualifications.
Time appears to have changed Burr’s mind. Ratcliffe was an ardent defender of the President during the impeachment inquiry and trial, where he is said to have impressed a number of Republican senators, including Burr, with his questions and work behind the scenes.
“As I’ve said before, however, there is no substitute for having a permanent, Senate-confirmed Director of National Intelligence in place to lead our IC. I look forward to receiving Congressman Ratcliffe’s official nomination and ushering it through the Senate’s regular order,” Burr said in his statement Friday, suggesting he was open to supporting the pick.
The White House did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.
Ratcliffe, who was elected to Congress in 2014 and joined the House Intelligence Committee in January 2019, has been a staunch supporter of the President who has criticized the handling of the Russia investigation. He advocated for reforms to a secretive intelligence court after an inspector general’s report identified several problems with the wiretap applications targeting Carter Page, a former Trump campaign adviser, in the probe.
Since Trump announced he was again picking Ratcliffe as his choice for DNI Friday, Burr has discussed the nomination with his Democratic counterpart, Sen. Mark Warner, according to a Democratic aide. The aide declined to provide details about the private conversation, but when asked if the two senators were on the same page regarding Ratcliffe’s nomination, they pointed to the independent statements issued by the lawmakers. While Burr suggested in his statement Friday he could be open to supporting Ratcliffe this time around, Warner made clear he still had serious concerns.
“The last time this nomination was unsuccessfully put forward, serious bipartisan questions were raised about Rep. Ratcliffe’s background and qualifications. It’s hard for me to see how anything new has happened to change that,” Warner said.
Hurdles ahead
Ratcliffe’s nomination could still face hurdles in the Senate, where Republicans have a narrow 53-47 majority. Unlike the House Intelligence Committee, which is widely viewed as partisan, its Senate counterpart is generally considered to be more reserved and bipartisan. Indications that Burr may be open to supporting Ratcliffe’s nomination could suggest he’s willing to help push the nomination through without support from Democrats, some of whom have already made clear they will not vote to confirm him.
“With this nomination, President Trump has shown once again his lack of respect for the rule of law and the intelligence community. Republicans must join Democrats in swiftly rejecting the nomination of Mr. Ratcliffe,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement Friday.
While it’s not clear Ratcliffe has the votes for an easy confirmation, one person close to the dynamic said the White House feels more confident this time around and Ratcliffe likely wouldn’t have accepted the position unless he felt similar.
Ratcliffe, however, voiced cautious optimism about his chances of being confirmed. When asked by CNN on Saturday about his thoughts on Trump’s announcement, Ratcliffe smiled and joked: “Well, we will see,” an apparent reference to the fact that he was forced to withdrawal from consideration for the same job last year.
If confirmed, Ratcliffe would replace Richard Grenell, the ambassador to Germany who Trump put in the position on an acting basis. Grenell is expected to leave the administration altogether if Ratcliffe is confirmed to go work for the President’s reelection campaign, though officials said those plans are still in flux and no final decisions have been made about a role for him.
One idea that has circulated among the President’s allies in recent days is that their case for Ratcliffe to head the intelligence agencies may have been bolstered by the temporary pick of Grenell as acting director of national intelligence. Because he’s seen as such a provocative figure, they believe senators may be more amenable to Ratcliffe in the role.
A Democratic aide told CNN last week that they expected the administration to nominate someone who would force Senate Republicans into making a difficult choice between confirming a candidate they previously opposed or allowing Grenell, a Trump loyalist with little intelligence experience, to remain in the acting role for an extended period of time. Under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, Grenell can serve in his post until March 11 unless Trump formally nominates someone, which would allow him to stay longer.
The Democratic aide said Democratic lawmakers do not have a favorable view of either Ratcliffe or Grenell, believing it would allow Trump to have a “stooge” in charge of the intelligence community, though the aide acknowledged the decision will ultimately come down to Senate Republicans.
CORRECTION: This story has been updated to correct the timing of Ratcliffe’s interview with CNN.