Richard Grenell, the vocal and frequently controversial U.S. envoy in Berlin, replaces another acting director. Grenell, a Trump loyalist, has no background in intelligence.
President Trump named Joseph Maguire shortly after the deputy director of national intelligence resigned. Maguire is currently director of the National Counterterrorism Center.
The departure of the director of national intelligence means that almost every senior member of President Trump's original national security team is gone from his or her job.
On the day Trump is to meet with intelligence officials, he called the focus on Russian hacking a "political witch hunt." But Trump has had difficulty separating politics from national security.
Reports indicate that Dan Coats, a former Indiana senator, will be selected to be director of national intelligence. But Coats and the president-elect appear to have very different views of Russia.
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