Trump nominated John Ratcliffe, not Kash Patel, to lead CIA | Fact check

The claim: Trump nominated Kash Patel as CIA director

A Nov. 11 Threads post (direct link, archive link) shows an image of Kash Patel, an aide during President-elect Donald Trump’s first term.

“BREAKING NEWS Trump just appointed Kash Patel to be the next CIA Director! This Is Huge!” the post’s text reads.

The post received nearly 2,000 likes in three days. Other versions of the claim also circulated widely on Threads, TikTok and X, formerly Twitter.

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Our rating: False

Trump hadn't nominated anyone to lead the Central Intelligence Agency when the post was shared. He chose John Ratcliffe, not Patel, a day later.

Trump picked Ratcliffe, not Patel, to lead CIA

Patel filled multiple roles during Trump’s first term as president, serving as chief of staff to former acting Department of Defense Secretary Christopher Miller and as Trump’s representative for dealing with National Archives records related to his administration.

But he is not Trump’s choice to head the CIA during his upcoming term.

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Trump spent much of the week after his election victory selecting nominees for various positions in his Cabinet and elsewhere in his administration. But at the time the post was shared, he had not made his selection for the CIA position public knowledge. He nominated Ratcliffe for it on Nov. 12, the day after the post was shared. The former Texas congressman served as Trump’s director of national intelligence during the final year of his first presidential term.

Reuters reported that some of Trump’s allies wanted Patel, "considered the ultimate Trump loyalist," for the CIA opening, but the outlet described a Senate confirmation of Patel for any position as a “challenge."

The Constitution empowers the Senate to approve or reject presidential nominees for Cabinet-level positions, including director of the CIA. A president may bypass that process with “recess appointments” to fill those vacancies temporarily while the Senate is not in session. The legislative body must be in recess for 10 or more days before an appointment may be made.

USA TODAY previously debunked election-related false claims that Trump nominated model and reality star Amber Rose to lead the Department of Education, that more people voted against Trump than for him and that CBS News accused Trump of cheating to win the 2024 race.

USA TODAY reached out to several social media users who shared the post but did not immediately receive responses.

Our fact-check sources

• USA TODAY, Nov. 12, Donald Trump names former intelligence chief John Ratcliffe to CIA director

• Donald Trump, Nov. 13, X post

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump didn't pick Kash Patel as CIA director | Fact check