Capitol Hill was abuzz on Wednesday as multiple simultaneous hearings were held over incoming President Donald Trump's appointments. Those include Pam Bondi, who is up for Attorney General, Marco Rubio, who will be Secretary of State, and John Ratcliffe, who is set to head up the Central Intelligence Agency. 

SEE: President-Elect Trump Taps Former DNI Head John Ratcliffe to Lead the CIA

While Pam Bondi's hearing had the most fireworks, Ratcliffe got his shots in as well. During his opening statement, he made clear that the politicization of the CIA would stop under his leadership. 

MUST WATCH: John Ratcliffe, @realDonaldTrump's nominee to be CIA Director, on restoring real leadership to the CIA:

"My leadership at CIA will focus on setting and communicating priorities, and demanding relentless execution. Above all will be a strict adherence to the CIA’s… pic.twitter.com/XcaSbzyJL2

— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) January 15, 2025

RATCLIFFE: If confirmed, my leadership at CIA will focus on setting and communicating priorities and demanding relentless execution. Above all will be a strict adherence to the CIA’s mission. We will collect intelligence, especially human intelligence, in every corner of the globe, no matter how dark or difficult. We will produce insightful, objective, all-source analysis, never allowing political or personal biases to cloud our judgment or infect our products. We will conduct covert action at the direction of the president, going places no one else can go and doing things no one else can do. 

To the brave CIA officers listening around the world, if all of this sounds like what you signed up for, then buckle up and get ready to make a difference. If it doesn’t, then it’s time to find a new line of work. We must be the ultimate meritocracy. I will unapologetically empower the most talented, hardest working, and most courageous risk-takers and innovators to protect the American people and advance America’s interest, and I will not tolerate anything or anyone that distracts from our mission.

That second paragraph is really the money quote. Ratcliffe is making it clear that the days of DEI and political views leading to promotions and assignments are over. There is no room for that anywhere in the bureaucracies, much less in one with the CIA's mission. As much as Republicans rightly distrust the intelligence agencies, there is a need for what they do. Ratcliffe has the experience and motivation to tear out the rot and return the CIA to its proper role. 

How do we know Ratcliffe is that guy? He demonstrated it when faced with a litany of intelligence agents and Democrat politicians attempting to claim the Hunter Biden laptop was "Russian disinformation." 

CIA Director Nominee @JohnRatcliffe: "In 2020, when a chairman of an intelligence committee misrepresented that a laptop owned by then candidate Biden's son was somehow a Russian intelligence operation... I stood in the breach. I stood alone and told the American people the truth… pic.twitter.com/5d75IK13BG

— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) January 15, 2025

RATCLIFFE: In 2020, when a chairman of an intelligence committee misrepresented that a laptop owned by then-candidate Biden's son was somehow a Russian intelligence operation and 51 former intelligence officials used the imprimatur of IC authority to go along with that, I stood in the breach, I stood alone and told the American people the truth about that. So I think my record in terms of speaking truth to power and defending the intelligence community and its good work is very clear, and what I can assure you is, those types of instances, if I'm in that position as CIA director and have to do that again, as uncomfortable as that can be, to be accused, you know, the truth will ultimately defend itself, and I think intelligence will as well.

In case you aren't acquainted with the details, Ratcliffe is nailing Rep. Adam Schiff in the above excerpt. He was the "chairman of the intelligence committee" that went on various news programs to lie to the American people and claim that the Hunter Biden laptop was a Russian information operation. That ultimately led to Schiff being censured and prevented from rejoining the committee after Republicans won the House of Representatives in 2022. 

Ratcliffe, who was DNI during Trump's first term, was the only major intelligence official to come out and tell the truth about the laptop. He did so under a barrage of attacks from the press claiming he was misleading the public to protect the soon-to-be second-term president. In the end, he was vindicated while people like Schiff never apologized for the falsehoods they pushed. That is exactly why Ratcliffe is the right man to lead the CIA. That organization has been politicized and weaponized against Americans for far too long. The time to bring everyone back in line is now, and those who don't want that can "find a new line of work."