A week later, Trump said Ratcliffe had withdrawn his name from consideration, with the president citing the congressman being treated very unfairly by the LameStream Media as cause for the nomination to be pulled back.

Concerns had been raised about exaggerations and amplifications in Ratcliffes record at the time, which were clarified by staff.

Following Coats departure in August, Joseph Maguire succeeded him as acting director. Grenell replaced Maguire earlier this month, but like Macguire, he would not be able to serve in the position past March 11, unless the White House sends a nomination to the Senate for consideration before then. A formal nomination of Ratcliffe would, in effect, stop the clock.

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer urged his colleagues to reject Ratcliffes nomination, saying Trump has shown once again his lack of respect for the rule of law and the intelligence community.

Replacing one highly partisan operative with another does nothing to keep our country safe, the New York Democrat said in a statement. At a time when the Russians are interfering in our elections, we need a nonpartisan leader at the helm of the Intelligence Community who sees the world objectively and speaks truth to power, and unfortunately neither Acting Director Grenell nor Rep. Ratcliffe comes even close to that.

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History repeats itself: Donald Trump tweets that John Ratcliffe will be director of national intelligence, again - Roll Call