
After his swift Senate confirmation and swearing-in by Vice President JD Vance, John Ratcliffe has stepped into his new role as CIA director with a firm commitment to refocusing the agency’s mission. He has already taken a strong stance against what he sees as the politicization of intelligence under former Director John Brennan, describing his tenure as harmful to national security efforts.
In his first official remarks, Ratcliffe criticized Brennan for allowing political agendas to influence intelligence operations. He cited the former director’s involvement in the 2020 Hunter Biden laptop controversy, where Brennan and other intelligence officials publicly claimed the laptop was part of a Russian disinformation campaign, despite evidence proving otherwise.
Ratcliffe pointed to the misuse of intelligence resources during the 2016 election cycle, including the FBI’s reliance on the Steele Dossier to justify investigations into the Trump campaign. He said these actions have caused widespread public distrust in the intelligence community.
I like this man more already!
Ratcliffe said Brennan was one of the worst things that ever happened to the CIA.Do you agree with him? (I do!) 😀 pic.twitter.com/i6QxblQGlP
— Croxxed Out (@FLCons) January 23, 2025
Trump’s recent decision to revoke the security clearances of Brennan and other former intelligence officials who were involved in the laptop letter was praised by Ratcliffe. He stated that those individuals had abused their positions and should no longer have access to classified materials.
Former Obama CIA director John Brennan says Tulsi Gabbard "doesn't have the right perspective" to be Director of National Intelligence.
So let's remind people:
-John Brennan voted for the Communist presidential candidate when in college.
-John Brennan lied under oath to the… pic.twitter.com/xKHfeVIMUq— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) November 14, 2024
Barack Obama’s Chief of Staff John Brennan running to Jake Tapper – slams Trump’s CIA Director John Ratcliffe for releasing documents CONFIRMING he briefed Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Susan Lice, James Comey on Hillary’s Russia Collusion Hoax:
pic.twitter.com/TeKTjg2bOo— Johnny Midnight ⚡️ (@its_The_Dr) January 22, 2025
As the CIA moves forward, Ratcliffe is focused on restoring the agency’s core mission—collecting and analyzing intelligence to protect national interests. He emphasized that political influence must be removed to ensure intelligence efforts remain objective and effective.
This is a SEPT 29, 2020 Letter from Ratcliffe to Lindsey Graham regarding Brennan, Hillary, and Comey discussing stirring up Russian disinformation focused on Pres Trump to distract from Hillary server. Barr knew about the Russia collusion b.s. while Pres Trump ran for office the… pic.twitter.com/QqCNETz7lr
— Futurist™ (@americasgreat) January 22, 2025
CIA Director, John Ratcliffe’s goal is “restoring the world's most preeminent intelligence agency to its core primary objectives”.
John Brennan created a huge mess that Ratcliffe will have to clean up.
🔗 to article in comments pic.twitter.com/RgFUT4uvdO
— ❥❥❥ᗰoᒪᒪie❥❥❥ (@mollie_don) January 24, 2025
Ratcliffe also noted that his leadership will prioritize improving intelligence capabilities and addressing key national security challenges, including countering threats from foreign adversaries.