By Tiamiyu Prudence Arobani
U.S. Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, has told a congressional panel that he has submitted his letter of resignation.
Clapper told the U.S. House Intelligence Committee that “it felt pretty good”.
The 75-year-old top American spy had been expected to step aside, as President-elect,
Donald Trump, prepares to appoint his own officials.
Analysts believe that Clapper is sending a signal to the Trump administration that they must now speed up the transition.
The intelligence chief told the Committee that “I submitted my letter of resignation last night which felt pretty good.
“I’ve got 64 days left and I’d have a pretty hard time with my wife going past that,” indicating that he would stay on in the post until President Barack Obama leaves office.
All members of outgoing administration must submit a resignation at some point.
The resignation was expected at the end of a term.
“Clapper signed his letter as required by all appointed administration officials but is finishing out his term,” a spokesperson from the Office of Director National Intelligence said.
Clapper has authority over 17 different agencies including the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
More than 107,000 employees report to him with a combined budget of over 52 billion dollars.
He had served in the job for six years after working for the U.S. Air Force and the Defence Intelligence Agency.
