Trump names Richard Grenell as acting spy chief

He will replace acting head of national intelligence Joseph Maguire, a retired Navy vice admiral whom Trump appointed to the position in August. Grenell was previously rumored to be a candidate to replace national security adviser John Bolton in 2019.

“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,” Trump said in a tweet Wednesday evening.

Trump also thanked Maguire for doing a “wonderful job” and added that “we look forward to working with him closely, perhaps in another capacity within the Administration!”

Maguire issued a statement thanking Trump for the opportunity to serve as acting spy chief.

“This has been the opportunity of a lifetime, and I am grateful for the tireless efforts and support of our intelligence professionals. I am committed to leading the IC until Ambassador Grenell assumes the role, and look forward to the next challenge,” he said.

Grenell has been a forceful and effective advocate for Trump’s foreign policy agenda, taking on an outsize role when serving as ambassador to Germany.

One former White House official told the Washington Examiner last fall that he represents “the best reflection of President Trump’s worldview.” Grenell would be the first openly gay Cabinet secretary. He has already helped lead the Trump administration’s efforts to decriminalize homosexuality worldwide.

Grenell was confirmed as ambassador to Germany in April 2018 by a vote of 56-42, with six Democrats voting “yea.” It wasn’t immediately clear who will take over as the top U.S. envoy to Germany with Grenell leaving the role.

Earlier this week, when asked about Attorney General William Barr’s comments that Trump’s tweets sometimes “make it impossible for me to do my job” at the DOJ, Grenell claimed that the president’s public commentary “makes my job so much easier.”

“We as diplomats have to be at the forefront of trying to solve problems. You don’t want to have a war, you want to avoid war, which means diplomats need to be able to talk … I like having a president who’s willing to be very tough,” Grenell told Fox News. “I think $400 billion in new defense promises for NATO members is one surefire way to point to the fact that the president’s style has worked.”

Grenell will take over after Maguire found himself at the center of a firestorm following an intelligence community whistleblower complaint regarding a controversial phone call between Trump and Ukraine’s president last summer.

The whistleblower complaint, addressed to House and Senate Intelligence Committee leaders, was submitted to the office of the intelligence community inspector general, led by Michael Atkinson, on Aug. 12.

Atkinson sent a letter to Maguire on Aug. 26 letting him know about the existence of the complaint, summarizing its claims, informing Maguire that Atkinson determined that the whistleblower “appears credible” and that the complaint is of “urgent concern,” and recommending that the information be provided to the appropriate congressional committees.

Maguire, in consultation with his office’s general counsel, Jason Klitenic, who is also leaving the administration, disagreed with Atkinson about being required to hand the complaint over to Congress. But on Sept. 26, the whistleblower complaint was declassified and made public, and Maguire testified in front of the House Intelligence Committee the same day, where he said he believed the whistleblower had “acted in good faith.”

Grenell avoided the impeachment controversy and spent part of the Senate trial in the Balkans as the White House special envoy for Kosovo-Serbia talks.

Grenell is outspoken on Twitter, where he regularly clashes with U.S. foreign policy critics.

Earlier this week, German politician Steffen Bockhahn tweeted at Grenell, saying, “You should know that parliamentarians are free in mind and in decision” and “in old Europe we want it like that and we like diplomatic diplomats.”

“You want a U.S. that doesn’t pressure you to pay your NATO obligation, looks the other way when you buy too much Russian gas, doesn’t demand you take back your Nazi prison guard living in NYC, accepts your higher car tariffs, and still sends 50,000 troops to your country,” Grenell tweeted back in response.

Jeet Heer, a correspondent with the Nation, tweeted that “since 1945, American foreign policy has been to try and keep Germany within the Western alliance. … It’s interesting to see Trump’s ambassador try to change that.”

“It’s precisely what I’m focused on,” Grenell responded. “I’ve watched as Germany has ignored long-standing U.S. requests on NATO spending, [Russia’s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Germany], a Hezbollah ban, the return of a Nazi guard, etc. Happy to debate the tactics of our shared goal — any time. Our style is working.”

Grenell had some prior foreign policy experience. President George W. Bush appointed him to be the director of communications and public diplomacy to the United Nations in 2001, a position he held until 2008. In 2012, Grenell worked as Mitt Romney’s campaign spokesman during the Utah Republican’s presidential run. Previously, he served on the staffs of Republicans George Pataki and Dave Camp.

Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., congratulated Grenell, calling the former U.S. spokesman at the U.N. “an amazing choice” and “someone [Trump] can trust.”

Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal reacted with umbrage upon hearing the news, calling Grenell “a political appointee with little or any background in intelligence.”

Grenell is serving in an interim capacity. Any nominee Trump picked would need to be confirmed by the Senate. Trump’s previous nominee, Texas Rep. John Ratcliffe, dropped from consideration last summer.

Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the intelligence committee, raised concerns about Trump picking a second acting spy chief in a row.

“This is the second acting director the President has named to the role since the resignation of Dan Coats, apparently in an effort to sidestep the Senate’s constitutional authority to advise and consent on such critical national security positions, and flouting the clear intent of Congress when it established the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in 2004,” the Virginia Democrat said in a statement.

“The intelligence community deserves stability and an experienced individual to lead them in a time of massive national and global security challenges. And at a time when the integrity and independence of the Department of Justice has been called into grave question, now more than ever, our country needs a Senate-confirmed intelligence director who will provide the best intelligence and analysis, regardless of whether or not it’s expedient for the President who has appointed him,” Warner added.