Dan Coats to Step Down as Intelligence Chief: Sources

Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, at odds with President Donald Trump over his handling of Syria and other international crises and his invective against the U.S. intelligence community, is expected to leave the administration as early as this week, two sources familiar with the matter told NBC News. 

Coats, who in July warned Congress of active threats to U.S. elections, is the 10th Cabinet member confirmed by the Senate to leave the administration, a record number of departures.

The White House declined Sunday to comment on the record.

Rep. John Ratcliffe, R-Texas, is widely considered a favorite to replace Coats, according to NBC News.

Coats’s relationship with the president frayed over Trump’s demand that Coats find evidence that former President Barack Obama had wiretapped Trump and that Coats publicly criticize the intelligence community as biased. The president accused Coats of being behind leaks of classified information.

Coats had come close to quitting at the end of last year but was talked out of it by Vice President Mike Pence, NBC News reported.

Tensions between the two men worsened when Trump decided to withdraw all troops from Syria, prompting former Defense Secretary James Mattis to depart.

Coats is a former congressman from Indiana and ambassador to Germany whom Trump disparages as “Mister Rogers.” He and Pence are longtime friends.

Coats got bipartisan support when he was confirmed for the cabinet spot two years ago.

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