Deputy Director of National Intelligence Sue Gordon will leave her position on Aug. 15 along with outgoing director Dan Coats, President Trump confirmed in a tweet Thursday evening.
Why it matters: Under federal statute, Gordon — who is widely respected in the intelligence community — was automatically supposed to assume the role of acting director upon Coats' departure. However, Trump never intended to pick her, and she dropped off a resignation letter at the White House on Thursday afternoon, sources tell Axios' Jonathan Swan.
The big picture: Trump's initial pick to replace Coats — Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas) — withdrew after it became clear that Democrats and some Senate Republicans had concerns about his partisan record and lack of experience. The media also discovered that Ratcliffe "had exaggerated his role in terrorism and immigration enforcement cases when he served as a federal prosecutor in Texas," per the Washington Post....
- A source tells Axios it was only after Trump announced Ratcliffe that aides really scrambled to do a vulnerability assessment on their DNI candidate — an episode that captures the way the Trump White House often operates when it comes to nominees.
- Trump has yet to announce who will take the place of Coats and Gordon as acting DNI on Aug. 15.