The Office of the National Intelligence Director will be without a director as of Aug. 15, when DNI Dan Coats leaves. The nomination of Rep. John Ratcliffe to take over the position is toast, but that's only part of the story. By law, the acting director should be Sue Gordon, principal deputy director of the DNI. For whatever reason, however, the White House is going to block her from taking the top spot, even temporarily.
There's a loophole in the law that created the ODNI and the administrative structure, allowing the White House more flexibility in naming an acting director if the No. 2 spot—Gordon's—is vacant, according to Robert M. Chesney, a law professor at the University of Texas at Austin. So the White House is trying to force her out so that Trump can name his acting director and stay within the bounds of the law.
The campaign to get her to leave started recently, with Trump refusing to meet with Gordon when she came to the White House to personally deliver an intelligence briefing, a source told The New York Times. She was there to do her job, and he refused to see her. Furthermore, "the White House requested this week that the office provide a list of senior officials who worked for the agency, according to a senior administration official—a move that was interpreted as another sign that it is looking beyond her for people who could be temporarily installed in the top position." But no one has informed her that she won't be considered for the acting director's position.
This is Trump trying to shitcan her, refusing to allow her to do her job and publicly recruiting for her replacement, essentially. Gordon has more than 30 years of intelligence experience and is well-respected. When Coats announced he was leaving, Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Richard Burr called her "a trusted partner" with whom he was looking forward to working. That was before Trump moved to get her tossed. The ranking member on the committee, Democrat Mark Warner, has reacted angrily to Trump's move to get rid of her. "It's outrageous if the president is hoping to pass over this extremely qualified and experienced individual, the highest-ranking woman in O.D.N.I., in order to install a political loyalist as acting director," he said.
Whether Trump personally has something against her or whether he can't afford to have a career intelligence person in the job, he's not going to let her have it. If asked, she will resign, people who work with her told the Times. As of now, Trump isn't even asking. He's just trying to humiliate her. And yes, it is so he can try to put one of his lackeys in the job, and chances are he won’t even bother to come up with a nomination for the top job; he’ll just appoint someone to be acting director and leave it at that. It’s what he does.