“Amid questions about the ability of the House and the Senate to function in regular order during a pandemic, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence will hold an open hearing on May 5 at 9:30 a.m. to consider the president’s nomination of Republican Rep. John Ratcliffe of Texas to serve as director of national intelligence. The hearing will be held in person, not remotely.
“The revival of this controversial nomination—which had been announced and then withdrawn last summer—is certain to raise new questions about Ratcliffe’s qualifications and fitness to serve as our nation’s sixth Senate-confirmed director of national intelligence. Those questions will take on fresh urgency in light of recent reporting that the president was repeatedly warned by the intelligence community in January and February about the looming coronavirus crisis…”