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CIA officials sound alarm as Trump chief pushes agency to breaking point
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director John Ratcliffe in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 19, 2026. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper
The CIA’s “Adult in the Room” Is Serving the Man Who Owns the Room
The Decision-Maker Is John Ratcliffe
The relevant fact is not that the CIA marked its 79th anniversary on September 18. It is that CIA Director John Ratcliffe controls the authority, personnel, and public credibility of an institution built to give presidents information they may not want. Former officers John Sipher and Julia Curlee argue that Ratcliffe has instead used that position to reinforce President…
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