CONGRESS/INTELLIGENCE/NATIONAL SECURITY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump on Friday [8-2-19] abruptly dropped his plan to nominate Representative John Ratcliffe, Republican of Texas, as the nation’s top intelligence official after questions by Republicans and Democrats about his qualifications and concern over whether he had exaggerated his résumé. Mr. Ratcliffe, a vocal supporter of Mr. Trump, had come under intense scrutiny since the president declared on Sunday on Twitter that the lawmaker was his pick to succeed Dan Coats, who is stepping down as director of national intelligence on Aug. 15. The selection generated scant enthusiasm among senators of both parties, who would have decided whether to confirm him. Mr. Trump, in his post announcing that Mr. Ratcliffe would not be his nominee after all, spoke bitterly of the attention that Mr. Ratcliffe’s overstated claims about his experience as a federal prosecutor quickly received from the news media.”
–Charlie Savage, Julian E. Barnes and Annie Karni, “Trump Drops Plans to Nominate John Ratcliffe as Director of National Intelligence,” The New York Times online, August 2, 2019