The Washington Post editorial board condemned Richard Grenell’s appointment as acting director of national intelligence, which President Donald Trump announced Thursday.
The newspaper’s scathing editorial ― titled “Trump puts an unqualified loyalist in charge of national intelligence” ― said Grenell, currently the U.S. ambassador to Germany, was “manifestly unqualified for the job.”
“He has no experience in intelligence or in managing large organizations ― like the 17 agencies that will now report to him,” the editorial board wrote, suggesting Grenell had only “won the president’s favor in a familiar way: by loudly praising him and his agenda on Fox News programs and social media.”
Grenell has a history of launching sexist attacks via social media. He will become the first openly gay Cabinet member.
The editorial said his previous “sycophantic pandering to Mr. Trump suggests he will show no such independence” and doubted he will “stand up against interference by Russia or other hostile powers” unless told to do so by the president.
His appointment also drew scorn from other public figures online:
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