INTELLIGENCE/NATIONAL SECURITY/NOMINATIONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Republicans hesitated on Monday [7-29-19] to embrace President Trump’s choice for the director of national intelligence, and some privately expressed doubts about his potential confirmation, echoing concerns of experts and Democrats that he was too inexperienced and too partisan. Mr. Trump’s pick, Representative John Ratcliffe of Texas, could face an uphill battle, Senate Republicans said in private conversations. Several said they wanted to keep the intelligence post apolitical, and Mr. Ratcliffe will need to show he can move beyond the die-hard conservative persona that has made him a star in the House and on Fox News but less well known among senators who will decide whether to confirm him…The cool reception from members of the president’s own party reflected the split at hand: For what is supposed to be perhaps the most nonpartisan job in Washington, Mr. Trump selected one of the capital’s fiercest political warriors.”
–Julian E. Barnes, Nicholas Fandos and Adam Goldman, “Republican Senators Are Cool to Trump’s Choice for Top Intelligence Post,” The New York Times online, July 29, 2019