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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Trump Picks Former Sen. Coats as Intelligence Boss

President-elect Donald Trump has selected former Indiana Sen. Dan Coats as director of national intelligence, according to published reports.

(CN) — President-elect Donald Trump has selected former Indiana Sen. Dan Coats as director of national intelligence, according to published reports.

The move, initially reported by The Washington Post, comes against the backdrop of the incoming president expressing skepticism over  the U.S. intelligence community's insistence that hackers in league with the Kremlin, tried to interfere with the 2016 presidential election.

It also comes as Trump prepares to be briefed on Friday on the Russian hacking allegations by senior intelligence officials.

Coats served as a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee before retiring from Congress last year. He also served as U.S. ambassador to Germany.

Responding to word of the nomination, Sen. John McCain said, "it'd be great, I tell you."

"If it's Dan it'd be great. He's one of my favorite people. And I also like to see one of these old geezers get another chance,"  McCain said.

As director of national intelligence, Coats would oversee an agency created after 9/11 to improve coordination of U.S. spy and law enforcement agencies.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Courthouse News reporter Tim Ryan also contributed.

Categories / Government, National, Politics

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