US Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats is leaving his job next month, ending a two-year tenure marked by President Donald Trump's clashes with intelligence officials.

Iran Press/America: Trump tweeted late on Sunday that the nation's top intelligence official would step aside on August 15, and that he would nominate a Texas congressman, Republican John Ratcliffe, to the post.

....be leaving office on August 15th. I would like to thank Dan for his great service to our Country. The Acting Director will be named shortly.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 28, 2019

Coats frequently appeared out of step with Trump and disclosed to prosecutors how he was urged by the president to publicly deny any link between Russia and the Trump campaign, CNBC reported.

The frayed relationship reflected broader divisions between the president and the government's intelligence agencies.

Ratcliffe is a frequent Trump defender who questioned special counsel Robert Mueller last week during a House Judiciary Committee hearing.

Coats developed a reputation inside the administration for sober presentations to the president of intelligence conclusions that occasionally contradicted Trump's policy aims.

His departure had been rumoured for months.

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