(CNN)President Donald Trump's pick to be director of national intelligence, Texas GOP Rep. John Ratcliffe, is likely to face pointed questions Tuesday in the Senate over his ties to the President and questions about his resume and qualifications.
Ratcliffe is appearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee after he was selected by the President a second time to be the nation's spy chief. Ratcliffe withdrew from consideration when he was first tapped for the role last summer amid concerns from even some Republicans about exaggerations to his national security resume, but Trump picked him again in February for the role.
Ratcliffe appears to have the support he needs from Republicans who were skeptical the first time he was picked, but Democrats are sure to press him on his ability to be independent from Trump when the President has expressed an open distrust of the intelligence community and refused to agree with the assessment on Russian election interference.
Ratcliffe's confirmation hearing is the first Senate hearing being held since the Senate reconvened this week in a new, socially distant world at the US Capitol. The hearing will be closed to the public, and the number of Senate aides and reporters will be curtailed. Senators are expected to rotate into the hearing in small groups to limit the number in the room at one time.
The hearing comes amid questions about Trump's claims of intelligence on the origins of the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China, and the removal of top intelligence officials earlier this year, including former intelligence community inspector general Michael Atkinson and then-acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire.
Read More
What to expect when the Senate returns this week
Ratcliffe would be replacing US Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, a fierce loyalist to the President who was named acting director of national intelligence in February following Maguire's ouster. Grenell has butted heads with Congress since taking over the role.
Ratcliffe is not particularly close to Trump, and they did not meet on-on-one until last year, according to a source close to the confirmation process. Ratcliffe was, however, a vocal defender of the President during the impeachment proceedings, a performance Trump raved about before picking him a second time.
Democrats say they will press Ratcliffe on the politicization of the intelligence community and his willingness to provide intelligence to the President that he doesn't want to hear. They're also likely to delve into apparent exaggerations to Ratcliffe's resume prosecuting terrorism cases in the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Texas, which emerged following his selection last year.
"I've got serious questions [about] a whole list of items," Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the intelligence panel, told CNN on Monday, saying he met with Ratcliffe on Friday.
The Justice Department provided the committee with a document stating that Ratcliffe was assigned 34 cases labeled terrorism or national security critical infrastructure, according to the source close to the confirmation process. But a Democratic source close to the committee said the document didn't include specific cases or show that Ratcliffe had tried any of the cases included.
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr, a North Carolina Republican who was cool to Ratcliffe's nomination last year, said after Ratcliffe was nominated a second time this year that he would support the pick. And Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said in a statement last week that she was backing Ratcliffe after meeting with him, saying he had the "experience to meet the statutory standard to fill the position."
The director of national intelligence leads the 17 agencies that make up the intelligence community. The role and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence were created in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Ratcliffe has been prepping for Tuesday's confirmation hearing at ODNI and has met with agency heads to get their perspective.
There are a host of issues Ratcliffe is likely to field questions about, from Russian election interference to the intelligence on the coronavirus outbreak to the restricting of the nation's intelligence agencies and the office he would lead if confirmed.
Trump still has refused to agree with the intelligence community's 2017 assessment that Russia interfered in the US election in 2016 -- and tried to help Trump win. While Ratcliffe has said he believes Russia interfered in the 2016 election, it's not clear how he will address the specific finding that the Russians favored Trump.
Trump's recent touting of intelligence on the exact origins of the coronavirus in China -- as well as his attempt to rebut press reports about when he was given intelligence on the outbreak earlier this year -- are both likely to be key topics at Tuesday's hearing.
CNN's Katilan Collins and Manu Raju contributed to this report.
Paid Content
Instantly unblock Gmail, Google, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram &… expressvpn
Teach Yourself a New Language From Home Babbel
A Centuries-Old Villa in Montenegro That Hasn’t Been on the Market… Mansion Global
Learning a new language? - This app gets you speaking in just 3… Babbel
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson Sells London Home Mansion Global
Learning a new language this year? – This app gets you speaking in just 3 weeks Babbel
U.S. A reporter went on air wearing a suit coat and no pants, not…
U.S. USA Gymnastics suspends coach Maggie Haney for 8 years
U.S. Women dressed as nurses are stealing packages off porches…
Politics Anthony Scaramucci: Trump's strategy has worked. Why…
CNN International - Videos Fauci to Cuomo: Don't think people realized how you were sucking it up
U.S. Park ranger was telling a crowd to social distance. Mid-speech…
Politics Trump moves to replace official who issued Covid-19 report
Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi Flipping Montecito… Mansion Global
Start speaking a new language in 3 weeks thanks to this app made… Babbel
Why Everybody in China is Snapping Up These New… PlayBeatz
How To Get Unrestricted Internet Access Worldwide With One… ExpressVPN
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson Picks Up $9.5 Million Georgia Farm Mansion Global