A day after tapping Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell as acting director of national intelligence, President Trump said he was considering naming Rep. Doug Collins as the nominee — but the Georgia Republican says he’s not interested.
The president told reporters aboard Air Force One on Thursday that Collins is in the running to fill the DNI post, which has not been filled since Dan Coats resigned in August, The Hill reported.
Joseph Maguire served in an acting capacity until he was replaced by Grenell to oversee the nation’s intelligence services.
But Collins, a staunch Trump ally who defended the president during the impeachment trial, threw cold water Friday on speculation that he might become DNI, he told Fox Business Network’s Maria Bartiromo.
“It’s not a job that would interest me, not one that I would accept. I’m running a Senate race in Georgia,” he said on “Mornings with Maria.” “It is humbling. It’s amazing to have the president think that much of you, to mention my name among others to be this position.”
Collins has angered some in the Republican Party by seeking a Senate seat in Georgia that GOP leaders want to go to Sen. Kelly Loeffler.
On Thursday, Grenell said the president would not nominate him permanently for the position.
“The President will announce the nominee (not me) sometime soon,” he said in a tweet.
A senior administration official told Reuters on condition of anonymity that Grenell would remain ambassador to Germany while serving as the second acting head of the 17-agency intelligence community since mid-2019.
Trump’s decision to name Grenell for the acting position rankled Democratic lawmakers who said he lacks the bona fides and was tapped only because of his loyalty to the commander-in-chief.
“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,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement.
She added that Trump appointed Grenell in an acting capacity because he knows Grenell “cannot be confirmed even in a Republican-controlled Senate” to the full-time post.
