In John Ratcliffe, Trump Finds an Intelligence Chief Willing to Look Past Russia

In his two-plus years serving as the president’s “principal adviser” on “intelligence matters related to national security” — responsible for oversight of the FBI, CIA, NSA, and offices within the State Department, the Pentagon, and the Department of Energy — Dan Coats’s strategy as director of National Intelligence was to support the intelligence community independent of the president’s insults or claims that ran contrary to intelligence-community positions. But prioritizing professionalism over personal fealty isn’t a great way to keep one’s role in the Trump administration. (Reports surfaced as early as February that the president wanted Coats out.) If Ratcliffe’s performance in the Mueller testimony is any evidence, the congressman may reverse those priorities.