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The Trump Administration is changing the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) from Dan Coats to John Ratcliffe. The DNI is supposed to coordinate the intelligence findings of the various intelligence agencies in the US government (there are 16 in total). Coats was in office for two years, which in itself is a major achievement, and there were several occasions in which he made findings that did not directly support the position of the Administration. But he was a very low-key Director and quite deliberately did not try to defend his office with a great deal of vigor. John Ratcliffe is a Congressperson from Texas who has defended the Trump Administration from charges of working with Russia during the 2016 national election. He does not have any background in intelligence or diplomacy, and seems to be an unusual choice for a position that requires deep expertise. It is likely that Ratcliffe’s appointment is clearly designed to neuter the ability of the intelligence agencies to monitor effectively foreign interference in the 2020 presidential elections. We will see if the Republican controlled Senate discharges its responsibility to make sure that high ranking officials are thoroughly qualified for positions that require high trust.