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Trump grows frustrated with Coats, leading some to fear he might be fired

February 19, 2019 at 7:23 p.m. EST
North Korea is unlikely to give up its nuclear weapons national intelligence chief Daniel Coats said on Jan. 29. (Video: Reuters)

President Trump has grown increasingly disenchanted with Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats, who has served as the nation’s top intelligence official for nearly two years, leading some administration officials to worry he will soon be dismissed, according to people familiar with the matter.

The president has never seen Coats as a close or trusted adviser, the people said, but he has become more frustrated with him in recent weeks over public statements that Trump sees as undercutting his policy goals, particularly with respect to reaching a disarmament agreement with North Korea.