Donald Trump will visit the CIA the day after he is sworn in as president, according to The Wall Street Journal, in a show of support for the agency after a bitter war of words with outgoing director John Brennan.
The stop on Saturday is expected to coincide with the swearing-in of Trump’s pick to lead the agency, Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.), who is expected to be confirmed on Friday.
Trump in the wake of his election has been a fierce and public critic of the CIA, in recent weeks accusing the agency of leaking an unconfirmed dossier full of explosive allegations about the president-elect.
{mosads}Brennan has denied the claim that the intelligence community released the report — which is not a U.S. government product — and chided Trump for comparing the alleged leak to “something that Nazi Germany would have done and did do.”
“Tell the families of those 117 CIA officers who are forever memorialized on our wall of honor that their loved ones who gave their lives were akin to Nazis,” Brennan said, referring to the Memorial Wall in the lobby of the CIA’s headquarters in Langley, Va.
“Tell the CIA officers who are serving in harm’s way right now and their families who are worried about them that they are akin to Nazi Germany. I found that to be very repugnant, and I will forever stand up for the integrity and patriotism of my officers who have done much over the years to sacrifice for their fellow citizens.”
The stop, according to incoming White House press secretary Sean Spicer, is one of multiple planned visits to various federal agencies “to make sure that he tells them how much he appreciates their service to our country.”