Pelosi On Trump Picking Acting DNI Richard Grenell: “Sole Qualification Is His Absolute Loyalty To The President”

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On Wednesday, President Trump named Ambassador Richard Grenell as Acting Director of National Intelligence, until the president nominates an individual for the permanent position. The Commander in Chief stated that Grenell represents the United States “exceedingly well”.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, however, took issue with the president’s choice for DNI, suggesting that Grennell’s “sole qualification” is his “absolute loyalty” to the President.

President Trump had tweeted on Wednesday: “I am pleased to announce that our highly respected Ambassador to Germany, @RichardGrenell, will become the Acting Director of National Intelligence. Rick has represented our Country exceedingly well and I look forward to working with him.”

“I would like to thank Joe Maguire for the wonderful job he has done, and we look forward to working with him closely, perhaps in another capacity within the Administration!” President Trump added, praising Maguire.

In response, Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a statement after President Trump named Ambassador Richard Grenell to Acting Director of National Intelligence, and publicly denounced the Harvard-educated diplomat.

“Our troops, the patriots of our intelligence community and the American people deserve a smart, strong national security policy. Sadly, President Trump has once again put his political interests ahead of America’s national security interests by appointing an Acting Director of National Intelligence whose sole qualification is his absolute loyalty to the President,” Speaker Pelosi alleged. (Continued Below)

“America needs an experienced, qualified and Senate-confirmed national security professional, particularly as the independence and credibility of the intelligence community have come under attack from the White House itself,” she stated.

“Once again, the President has shown his contempt for our Constitution’s system of checks and balances by sidestepping the Senate’s constitutional authority of confirmation with the installation of another Acting official that he knows cannot be confirmed even in a Republican-controlled Senate,” Pelosi added.

Meanwhile, President Trump tweeted on Friday: “Four great candidates are under consideration at DNI. Decision within [the] next few weeks!” (Continued Below)

Grenell, the first openly gay member of Trump’s administration, is one of the president’s most vocal defenders and played a key role in convincing Germany to boost its spending on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) from one percent of its GDP up to two percent by 2031, reported Breitbart.

President Trump’s official tweets:

Speaker Pelosi’s official statement:

(Related: Pelosi Puts Her Irritation On Full Display Over The SOTU & Trump’s Acquittal: “He’s Impeached Forever, Branded With That & Not Vindicated”)