Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is trying to stop the acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller from making a last-minute move at the National Security Agency. Pelosi wrote a letter “demanding an immediate halt to the improper process of installing unqualified Trump-loyalist Michael Ellis as the new National Security Agency General Counsel 72 hours prior to the beginning of the new Administration.”

Ellis is known as a Trump loyalist and he was reportedly installed under pressure from the White House. The fast-tracking of his employment raised red flags from multiple people including Pelosi who writes that this position should be picked “based on merit and free from political influence.”

“Public reporting indicates that Mr. Ellis, a relatively recent law school graduate with a limited resume, was selected due to interference by the White House, and was chosen over much more qualified candidates.  Moreover, Mr. Ellis has been reportedly involved in highly questionable activities that are disqualifying – including the infamous 2017 ‘midnight run’ to launder intelligence information through Rep. Devin Nunes and with efforts to shield information about President Trump’s July 2019 call with the President of Ukraine.”

According to the New York Times, “Ellis’s allies had pushed for him to be installed before President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. is inaugurated. While it will be difficult to fire Mr. Ellis under Civil Service rules, the Biden administration could easily reassign him to another, less important post. The Biden transition team declined to comment.”