Former United States senator Dan Coats, R-Indiana, is expected to be nominated for a position in the Donald Trump administration as director of national intelligence, according to major national news outlets.
Coats, who served in the House of Representatives and the Senate, would be the successor to current intelligence director James R. Clapper. The Associated Press, Washington Post and New York Times cited an unnamed Trump transition team official in their reports.
Coats graduated from the IU Robert H. McKinney School of Law in 1971 after serving in the U.S. Army from 1966 to 1968. He represented Indiana’s fourth district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1981 to 1989.
When Dan Quayle was elected to vice president of the U.S. in 1988, Coats was appointed to his seat in the Senate. Coats had previously served as a district representative for Quayle in 1976. Coats served the remainder of Quayle’s term and was later re-elected to a full term, serving in Senate until 1999.
Coats was named the U.S. ambassador to Germany in 2001. He kept the position until 2005.
Coats was re-elected to Senate in 2010 and served one term. He did not seek reelection in 2016, and his term expired this month. He served a total of 16 years in the Senate.
While in his final Senate term, Coats was a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Coats’ appointment is expected to be announced as early as Friday, according to major national news outlets’ source.
Sarah Gardner
