The CIA under Trump will be led by the individual who headed intelligence during his first term as president.

This was announced by Trump himself.

From 2020 to 2021, Ratcliffe served as the Director of National Intelligence—this appointment was criticized at the time, with claims that Trump was using the intelligence community for his political needs, writes CNN.

Trump described Ratcliffe as a "fighter for truth and integrity before the American public." He specifically mentioned the "fake Russian conspiracy that was a Clinton campaign operation."

Trump referred to the incident when, in his role as head of intelligence, Ratcliffe publicly disclosed unverified information regarding Russia's influence on the 2016 presidential election, despite objections from members of the intelligence community.

At that time, the official declassified a summary of the intelligence assessment concerning Trump's 2016 election rival, Hillary Clinton. It claimed that Clinton approved a campaign plan to "ignite a scandal" against Trump by linking him to Russia and the hacking of the Democratic National Committee.

Ratcliffe wrote to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, who released the summary, stating that the intelligence community "does not know the accuracy of this claim or the extent to which the Russian intelligence analysis may reflect exaggeration or fabrication."

Critics argued that Ratcliffe was using intelligence data to assist Trump politically ahead of the 2020 presidential election.