Trump picks Fox News host Pete Hegseth as defense secretary and John Ratcliffe as CIA director

On the other hand, he also announced the election of the former Director of National Intelligence during his first term, John Ratcliffe, as director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

“I am pleased to announce that former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe will serve as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA),” he said in a message published on his Truth Social platform.

Trump has highlighted that Ratcliffe “has always been a warrior for truth and honesty with the American public”, recalling his role in trying to promote investigations against Hunter Biden, son of the current president, Joe Biden, for tax evasion.

“When 51 Intelligence officers were lying about Hunter Biden’s laptop, there was one, John Ratcliffe, telling the truth to the American people,” he declared in this regard, one of the reasons why, in 2020, he was awarded the Medal of Homeland Security: “the nation’s highest honor for distinguished achievement in the field of intelligence and national security.”

«I hope that John will be the first person to occupy the two highest Intelligence positions in our country. “He will be a fearless fighter for the constitutional rights of all Americans, while ensuring the highest levels of national security and peace through force,” said the new head of the White House.

John Ratcliffe was Director of National Intelligence from 2020 to 2021 during President Trump’s first term. Previously, he was a Republican congressman from the state of Texas, a position he held for five years in which he focused on “national security issues” as a member of the House Intelligence and Judiciary Committees and chairman of the Cybersecurity Committee on National security.