Trump’s new spy chief Richard Grenell likened to ‘far-right colonial officer’

US President Donald Trump has named the current ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, as acting Director of National Intelligence, immediately drawing criticism for picking an unusually undiplomatic ambassador with little intelligence experience to lead America’s spy agencies.

Grenell was named acting Director of National Intelligence on Wednesday, a temporary status which means he will not face a Senate confirmation process unless he is picked for a permanent position.

His selection follows the pattern of an administration that prizes loyalty and has an inclination for choosing “acting” cabinet secretaries.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence was created following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Intelligence experts are skeptical that Grenell, the first openly gay member of in any US administration, is qualified for the job.  

He lacks the broad military and national security experience of the acting director he replaces, Joseph Maguire, as well as previous officials who have held the position. Maguire had been director of the National Counterterrorism Center and had a 36-year career as a naval special warfare officer.

The appointment of Grenell, an outspoken Trump loyalist, is a sign that the president may be planning to impose his personal political views on US spy agencies.

Trump has been mistrustful of the US intelligence community, describing it as part of a “deep state” of established bureaucrats that seek to undermine his policies.

“He is probably the most unqualified individual ever appointed to this position," Larry Pfeiffer, a former longtime intelligence agency official, told The Associated Press.

Grenell has history of highly political, pro-Trump messages on social media, including suggesting that alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 US elections actually helped former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over Trump.

Trump to name US envoy to Germany acting director of national intelligence: Sources

US President Donald Trump is expected to name US ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell to be acting director of national intelligence.

Grenell is expected to be in the post for 90 days and a permanent replacement will be announced by March 11, said a US official.

Grenell will continue to keep his ambassador post as well as a third job as special presidential envoy for Serbia and Kosovo peace negotiations. Former CIA officials expressed shock that Grenell would try to take on two of those jobs at the same time, let alone all three.

“What it signals is that Donald Trump is now making clear what we long suspected: That he has no use for a director of national intelligence," said Ned Price, a former CIA officer who served as a special assistant to President Barack Obama on the National Security Council.

Since his appointment by Trump as US ambassador in Germany in 2018, Grenell has infuriated many in Germany’s political establishment by openly criticizing Berlin’s policies, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel's decision to welcome more than a million asylum seekers in 2015 and 2016.

“Grenell does not behave like a diplomat, but like a far-right colonial officer,” Martin Schulz, a former leader of Germany's center-left Social Democratic Party,, told the Independent newspaper.

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