Director of National Intelligence James Clapper announced on Thursday he has submitted a letter of resignation from the Obama administration.
During a hearing before the House Intelligence Committee, Clapper said he “felt pretty good” about the decision.
He joked to lawmakers on Thursday that his wife would not let him continue working in the government.
“I got 64 days left and I think I’d have a hard time with my wife [with] anything past that,” he said.
The nation’s top intelligence official was dragged into the spotlight this summer when Democrats called on him to withhold traditional briefings from Donald Trump and Republicans called on him to withhold the briefings from Hillary Clinton. Clapper denied those requests and said the two nominees would be offered the same classified briefings as others before them had received as a courtesy upon becoming their party’s nominees.
Clapper stirred controversy in 2013 when he told a Senate committee that the National Security Agency did not “wittingly” collect data on ordinary Americans, a statement later proven false by documents leaked to the press by Edward Snowden.
Clapper later apologized to the public and characterized his testimony as a mistake, not a lie. But the dust-up prompted calls for his resignation at the time.
The director of national intelligence is likely the first of many top administration officials to step down as President-elect Trump prepares to name his own Cabinet and staff.
Rep. Adam Schiff, ranking Democrat on the intelligence committee, thanked Clapper on Thursday for his years of government service.
“Director Clapper in particular has served us honorably since the 1960s, first as an Air Force officer and later as director of [Defense Intelligence Agency], [National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency], as the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, and of course for the last six years as DNI,” Schiff said. “You have always exhibited sober judgment and put the fate of the nation first. I hope that as you look back on your career, you are proud of the work you’ve done. We are all certainly very grateful.”
