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John Ratcliffe

6 th U.S. Director of National Intelligence
Former Member of Congress

As United States Director of National Intelligence (DNI), John Ratcliffe served as the principal intelligence advisor to President Donald J. Trump and as the leader of the U.S. intelligence community (IC), comprised of 18 federal agencies including the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), National Security Agency (NSA) and intelligence elements within the Departments of
Defense, State, Justice, Treasury, Commerce, Energy and Homeland Security.

As “America’s Top Spy,” Director Ratcliffe directed U.S. intelligence and counterintelligence collection platforms, covert and clandestine action programs and analytic enterprises through both the National Intelligence Program and Military Intelligence Program, with a combined $85 billion annual budget and a workforce of more than 200,000 employees worldwide.

During his tenure, Director Ratcliffe successfully deployed covert and clandestine intelligence assets to remove numerous designated terrorist leaders from the battlefield; led a shift in IC priorities to better position the U.S. for success in the great power competition with China, including increasing China-focused IC spending by 20 percent; and as a member of the National Space Council made the historic decision to add the U.S. Space Force as the 18 th member of the intelligence community, thereby elevating space as a priority intelligence domain.

On December 22, 2020, in recognition of his national security achievements as both Director of National Intelligence and previously as a Member of Congress, the President awarded Director Ratcliffe the National Security Medal, the nation’s highest honor for distinguished achievement in the field of intelligence and national security. In addition, the Secretary of Defense also awarded Director Ratcliffe the Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Medal for “playing an integral role in multiple special operations successes and empowering the Secretary of Defense to make fully informed decisions to remove terrorists from the battlefield and keep United States forces and the American people safe.”

Prior to his nomination and confirmation as DNI, John Ratcliffe served for over five years as the U.S. Representative for the 4th Congressional District of Texas.

As a Congressman, Director Ratcliffe was a leading policy maker on national security issues as a member of the House Intelligence, Homeland Security and Judiciary committees. He chaired the Homeland Security Committee’s Cybersecurity Subcommittee and was recognized as one of the most prolific legislators on cyber issues, overseeing the passage of more than a dozen major cybersecurity bills that were signed into law during the Obama and Trump administrations.

Director Ratcliffe authored The United States-Israel Advanced Research Partnership Act, signed into law by President Obama on December 16, 2016, which allowed the U.S. and Israel to collaborate on research and development of cybersecurity technologies for national security purposes. The Strengthening State and Local Cyber Crime Fighting Act, authored by Director Ratcliffe and signed into law by President Trump on November 2, 2017, established the National Computer Forensics Institute as a national center for training law enforcement officials on the use of cyber technologies to investigate and secure digital evidence.

Prior to serving in Congress, Director Ratcliffe served in the George W. Bush administration from 2004 to 2008, initially appointed as Chief of Anti-Terrorism and National Security for the Eastern District of Texas and later judicially appointed as the U.S. Attorney, the top federal law enforcement official in the district from 2007 to 2008. From 2008 until 2014, Director Ratcliffe was a founding partner with former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft of Ashcroft Sutton Ratcliffe LLP, a firm providing strategic legal advice on national and international security issues.

Currently, Director Ratcliffe serves on boards of directors and advisory boards for multiple national security, intelligence and technology companies in addition to performing consulting services primarily focused on improving the national security posture of the United States and the American people.

Disclaimer: Mr. Ratcliffe is not engaged in the practice of law at American Global Strategies