Ratcliffe Promises Apolitical CIA, Increased Focus on China and Southern Border Threats

Jan 15, 2025, 04:36 PM

John Ratcliffe, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to lead the CIA, faced a confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee. Ratcliffe, who previously served as Director of National Intelligence during Trump's first term, pledged to keep the agency's work apolitical and to intensify its focus on China as a top national security threat. He emphasized the need for the CIA to collect human intelligence globally and produce objective analysis, free from political or personal biases. Ratcliffe also committed to not imposing political litmus tests on the CIA workforce or forcing employees to prioritize loyalty to Trump over the country. He vowed to make the CIA more muscular and identified threats at the southern border. The hearing took place amid discussions about the challenging national security environment, with Ratcliffe highlighting the Chinese Communist Party's ambitions to dominate economically, technologically, and militarily.