White House delivers ominous request for list of top US spies as Trump looks to install loyalists: report

The Trump White House has asked the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) to provide it with a list of top American spies at a time when President Donald Trump is looking to install a loyalist as his new intelligence chief.

The Daily Beast reports that the administration wants the ODNI to deliver an inventory of "all its employees at the federal government’s top pay scale who have worked there for 90 days or more," although it has not offered an official justification for why it wants the office to do this.

The Daily Beast's sources believe that the most likely explanation for the request is that the White House wants to remove Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence Sue Gordon from her post. Gordon, who is widely respected on Capitol Hill, is viewed warily by the White House because she's not seen as part of "Team MAGA," the report claims.

"This disquiet is the latest episode of the president’s long-simmering feud with the Intelligence Community," the Daily Beast adds. "During Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 election, he often fumed on Twitter about the so-called “Deep State.” And he even singled out his own officials."