US spy chief Dan Coats steps down after clashing with Donald Trump on Russia and North Korea

Dissenting voice: intelligence chief Dan Coats
AP
David Gardner29 July 2019

America's spy chief is stepping down after falling out with Donald Trump over Russia, North Korea and Iran.

The departure of Director of Intelligence Dan Coats removes one of the few remaining senior administration officials willing to contradict the President.

Mr Trump announced the move today with a tepid tweet thanking Mr Coats for his service, putting a full stop on a relationship that had become increasingly fraught as they clashed over the threats posed by some of America’s long-time foes.

Mr Coats, seen as an independent, steady hand during his two-and-a-half year tenure as boss of all 17 intelligence agencies, including the CIA and the National Security Agency, is set to be replaced by Right-wing Trump loyalist John Ratcliffe.

The congressman from Texas, who led the Republican grilling of Special Counsel Robert Mueller last week on Capitol Hill, is expected to share many of Mr Trump’s views on the beleaguered US intelligence community.

Mr Coats, 76, had angered Mr Trump with assessments of Russia, North Korea and Iran that often contradicted the President’s views.

In particular, he saw Vladimir Putin as an adversary and mocked reports that the Russian leader could be invited to the White House following the Helsinki summit with Mr Trump in 2018, saying sarcastically: “That is going to be special.”

He undermined the President by publicly defending the findings by intelligence agencies that Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential election in a bid to boost Mr Trump’s prospects and insisted that North Korea was unlikely to give up its nuclear ambitions despite the much-vaunted meetings with Kim Jong-un.

He was also criticised in a tweet from Mr Trump for being “passive and naive” after playing down the threat from Iran, saying it was not immediately ready to build a nuclear missile.

“Perhaps Intelligence should go back to school!” wrote Mr Trump.

In his resignation letter, Mr Coats, a former Republican senator, wrote: “The intelligence community is stronger than ever and increasingly well prepared to meet new challenges and opportunities. As a result, I now believe it is time for me to move on to the next chapter of my life.”

Mr Trump thanked Mr Coats for “his great service to our country”. But he was more effusive in announcing Mr Ratcliffe, 53, as the spy chief’s replacement, saying that he would “lead and inspire greatness”.

The President’s critics said the latest high-profile White House departure after the resignations of senior Republicans such as Defence Secretary James Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson means Mr Trump is surrounding himself with loyalists who are unlikely to offer a dissenting opinion.