The Administration · Cabinet-level officials
CIA Director
A former Texas congressman and the first person to serve as both director of national intelligence and CIA director, now the president's go-between with intelligence chiefs from Caracas to Moscow.
John Ratcliffe was born on October 20, 1965, in Mount Prospect, Illinois. 1 He graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1986 and from Southern Methodist University's law school in 1989, then practiced law in Texas. 1 He was elected mayor of the small city of Heath, Texas, in 2004 and held that office until 2012. 1 In the same years he worked in the U.S. attorney's office for the Eastern District of Texas, where he ran anti-terrorism and national security work and served as acting U.S. attorney from May 2007 to May 2008. 1
Ratcliffe won a seat in the U.S. House in 2014 by defeating longtime Rep. Ralph Hall in a Republican runoff, and represented Texas's 4th District from January 2015 to May 2020. 1 He defended Trump during the first impeachment. 2 Trump then made him director of national intelligence, a post he held from May 2020 to January 2021. 1 In that job he was accused of politicizing intelligence when he declassified Russian intelligence material about Democrats in 2016 while acknowledging it might not be accurate, the Associated Press reported. 2 He became a visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation in 2023. 1
The Senate confirmed Ratcliffe as CIA director on January 23, 2025, by 74 to 25, and Vice President JD Vance swore him in the same day as the agency's 25th director. 2 3 He told senators he wanted the agency to make more use of artificial intelligence and to expand human spying. 2 In his first months he offered the government's deferred-resignation program to CIA staff, according to Wikipedia's account. 1 In July 2025 he released a review critical of how the 2017 assessment of Russian election interference was put together and referred former director John Brennan to the FBI. 5
Ratcliffe has often served as an envoy. On January 15, 2026, about two weeks after U.S. forces captured Nicolas Maduro, he met Venezuela's acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, in Caracas for two hours. 6 On August 25, 2026, he held talks in Moscow with Russian intelligence officials; CBS News reported he warned Russia against attacking NATO members. 7 8 He remained in the post in mid-November 2026, when Axios reported he was meeting Israel's intelligence chief in Washington. 10
The acts and events that have defined the post so far, oldest first.
Told the Senate Intelligence Committee he had been a member of the Signal group chat about strikes in Yemen that accidentally included a journalist, and said he shared nothing classified. 4
Declassified a CIA review that faulted the handling of the 2017 intelligence assessment on Russian election interference and referred former CIA Director John Brennan to the FBI, according to Justice Department sources cited by Fox News. 5
Met Venezuela's acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, in Caracas for two hours, the most senior U.S. visit since the raid that captured Nicolas Maduro. A U.S. official said he went at Trump's direction to seek a better working relationship. 6
Announced a reorganization of the CIA's technology work: a goal of finishing most technology purchases within six months, a new office for dealing with companies, and the elevation of the agency's cyber center to a full mission center. 9
Axios reported that Israel's Mossad chief was in Washington meeting Ratcliffe as Israel's prime minister pressed Trump to resume the war with Iran. The CIA declined to comment. 10
What critics, courts or investigators have said, and the answer given. An allegation is not a finding.
Ratcliffe took part in a Signal group chat in which senior officials discussed planned strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen and to which a journalist from The Atlantic had been added by mistake. Democratic senators said the exchange could have cost American lives had it leaked. 4
Their side: Ratcliffe testified that using Signal for work was permitted, that he shared no classified information and that the episode was not a huge mistake. 4
Ratcliffe's referral of former CIA Director John Brennan to the FBI led to a criminal investigation of Brennan over possible false statements to Congress, Fox News reported, citing Justice Department sources. The FBI and CIA declined to comment and no charge had been reported in that story. 5
Their side: Fox News said Brennan did not immediately reply to its request for comment. 5
As director of national intelligence in 2020, Ratcliffe was accused of politicizing intelligence when he declassified Russian intelligence about Democrats during the 2016 election while acknowledging it might not be accurate, the Associated Press reported. The AP recalled the episode when Democrats questioned his objectivity before his 2025 confirmation. 2
Their side: No public response found.
The Justice Department says Ian Brinksman, a contractor with a top-secret clearance, took classified reports and gave them to a journalist he was dating. The case tests how the Trump administration handles leaks and the independent press.
Sen. Mark Warner and Rep. Jim Himes say they are preparing for Trump to cite foreign interference to question the Nov. 3 results. They also say intelligence officials see no sign of plans to tamper with voting machines or vote counts.
File checked Nov. 13, 2026. Something wrong or out of date? Tell the desk.
