Trump says DNI nominee Ratcliffe will "rein in" intelligence agencies

President Trump said on Tuesday that he believes the U.S. intelligence community has "run amok," and that Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas), his controversial nominee to replace Dan Coats as director of national intelligence, would "rein it in."

Why it matters: Ratcliffe, who defended Trump and "downplayed the threat posed by Russia" at former special counsel Robert Mueller's hearing last week, is not well-known by many Republican senators or trusted by Democrats, per Politico. Democrats worry that as a "relentless critic of the Russia investigation," Ratcliffe would turn the director of national intelligence into a partisan position, in addition to lacking the necessary experience for the nation's top intelligence job, the NYT reports.