This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said he will nominate the country’s counterintelligence chief to be his next acting director of national intelligence.
In a tweet on August 8, Trump wrote that Joseph Maguire, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, will assume the post on August 15.
I am pleased to inform you that the Honorable Joseph Maguire, current Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, will be named Acting Director of National Intelligence, effective August 15th. Admiral Maguire has a long and distinguished….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 8, 2019
Maguire was a vice admiral in the U.S. Navy until retiring in 2010 following a 36-year career as a naval special warfare officer. He assumed his counterintelligence job in 2018 after being nominated to the post by Trump.
Maguire will replace Dan Coats, who said last month that he would step down on August 15. There was no immediate indication if Maquire would be considered for the post of permanent director of national intelligence.
Prior to disclosing Maguire as his choice, Trump wrote on Twitter that Coats’s deputy director of national intelligence, Sue Gordon, was resigning from her position. Gordon, a career intelligence official, was supported by many current and former officials to be elevated to the director of national intelligence role.
Trump’s first choice to replace Coats, Republican Congressman John Ratcliffe, dropped out of the running after questions arose about his lack of experience and possible exaggerations in his resume.
