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(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced that Richard Grenell, the U.S. ambassador to Germany, will become acting director of national intelligence, a move that puts a staunch Trump ally in charge of the nation’s 17 spy agencies, which the president has only tepidly embraced.

“Rick has represented our Country exceedingly well and I look forward to working with him,” Trump tweeted.

Grenell follows Joseph Maguire, who has been acting national intelligence director since August. It was unclear if Maguire would return to the National Counterterrorism Center. “I would like to thank Joe Maguire for the wonderful job he has done,” Trump tweeted, “and we look forward to working with him closely, perhaps in another capacity within the Administration!”

Grenell, a loyal and outspoken Trump supporter, has been the U.S. ambassador to Germany since 2018. He previously served as U.S. spokesman at the United Nations in the George W. Bush administration, including under then-Ambassador John Bolton.

News of the announcement was quickly criticized by those who said the job should be held by someone with deep experience in intelligence. Trump named Grenell acting national intelligence director, meaning he would not have to be confirmed by the Senate.

Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Trump had “selected an individual without any intelligence experience to serve as the leader of the nation’s intelligence community in an acting capacity.”

Warner accused the president of trying to sidestep the Senate’s constitutional authority to advise and consent on critical national security positions.

“The intelligence community deserves stability and an experienced individual to lead them in a time of massive national and global security challenges,” Warner said in a statement. “… Now more than ever our country needs a Senate-confirmed intelligence director who will provide the best intelligence and analysis, regardless of whether or not it’s expedient for the president who has appointed him.”

Susan Hennessey, a fellow in national security law at Brookings Institution and a former attorney at the National Security Agency, tweeted: “This should frighten you. Not just brazen politicization of intelligence, but also someone who is utterly incompetent in an important security role. The guardrails are gone.”

Trump named Maguire to the position after Texas GOP Rep. John Ratcliffe removed himself from consideration after just five days amid criticism about his lack of intelligence experience and qualifications for the job.

Maguire became acting director the same day that former National Intelligence Director Dan Coats’ resignation took effect. It was also the same day that deputy national intelligence director Sue Gordon walked out the door. Democrats denounced the shake-up at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and accused Trump of pushing out two dedicated intelligence professionals.

Public tours of the U.S. Capitol will be suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic, a person familiar with the plans said Wednesday.

The House and Senate sergeants-at-arms are preparing to make the announcement, the person said.

Separately, the leaders of the House and Senate have said they have no plans to alter their congressional schedules. Both chambers are scheduled to work Thursday, then leave for a week-long recess.

“We are the captains of the ship. We are the last to leave,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told lawmakers Tuesday, according to a person in the room

WASHINGTON — The House passed three bills Tuesday aimed at showing U.S. support for pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.

The action follows months of protests over the Beijing government’s aggressive attempts to enforce control over the semi-autonomous territory.

One of the bills condemns China’s intrusions into Hong Kong’s affairs and supports the right of people to protest. Another requires annual reviews by the U.S. secretary of state of Hong Kong’s special economic and trade status, providing a check on Beijing’s influence over the territory. A third bill would ensure that U.S. weapons are not being used against protesters by police.

All three bills were approved on separate voice votes.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the bills important reminders of U.S. support for human rights in the face of significant commercial interests in China.

“If America does not speak out for human rights in China because of commercial interests, then we lose all moral authority to speak out on behalf of human rights any place in the world,” she said.

Pelosi said the bravery of young protesters in Hong Kong stands in contrast to “the cowardly government that refuses to respect the rule of law” and the “one country, two systems” policy that was supposed to ensure a smooth political transition after the former British colony was returned to China in 1997.

Under U.S. law, Hong Kong receives special treatment in matters of trade, customs, sanctions enforcement, law enforcement cooperation and more. China has benefited from this special status and used it to evade U.S. export controls and sanctions, Pelosi and other lawmakers said.

“Solemn promises made by Beijing are rarely kept and far too many leaders of the free world are far too eager to blindly accept fiction over fact,” said Rep. Christopher Smith, R-N.J., a lead sponsor of one of the Hong Kong bills.

Under President Xi Jinping, human rights abuses in China have significantly worsened, including the pervasive use of torture, religious persecution and human trafficking, Smith said.

China “excels in crushing bodies, shattering bones, torturing dissidents and filling concentration camps — massive crimes against humanity for which there has been little or no accountability or sanction,” Smith said. “Today we’re simply urging the Chinese president and the Hong Kong Chief Executive, Carrie Lam, to faithfully honor the government’s promises.”

Smith’s bill would require a report by the Commerce Department on whether the Hong Kong government adequately enforces U.S. export controls and sanctions laws. It also allows qualified Hong Kong residents to work or study in the U.S. even if they have been arrested for participating in nonviolent protests.

President Donald Trump said last week that he would “like to see a very humane solution” to the Hong Kong protests. “I hope that’s going to happen,” he said Oct. 7 at the White House. “And, you know, Hong Kong is very important as a world hub — not just for China, but for the world.”

Many protesters fly American flags, and Trump said he is hopeful a humane deal can be worked out, adding: “I think President Xi has the ability to do it.”

Pelosi was less optimistic. Since China used its military to crush the 1989 Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests in Beijing, “we have seen that commercial interest always win,” she said during House debate. “It’s always about the money.”

Citing the Bible, Pelosi said, “What does it profit a person if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?”

Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., who sponsored one of the Hong Kong bills, said that “the world is watching Hong Kong, and Hong Kong is watching the floor of the House of Representatives” to see if lawmakers support the protesters instead of the Chinese government.

Under pressure from China, tech giant Apple removed a smartphone app that enabled Hong Kong protesters to track police, while the National Basketball Association has seen its once-thriving relationship with China become strained after Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted support for the Hong Kong protesters.

“Corporations bow down to China for profit,” Sherman said. “It’s time we stand up to China.”

The three bills now head to the Senate. A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Tuesday he had no scheduling announcement.

McConnell chided the NBA, saying in a tweet last week that “the people of Hong Kong have risked much more than money to defend their freedom of expression, human rights and autonomy. I hope the @NBA can learn from that courage and not abandon those values for the sake of their bottom line.”

The Senate Appropriations Committee last month advanced an amendment that McConnell said would ensure “the U.S. maintains a watchful eye on the Chinese government’s aggressive encroachment on Hong Kong.”