https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/after-a-congressional-briefing-on-election-threats-trump-soured-on-acting-spy-chief/2020/02/20/1ed2b4ec-53f1-11ea-b119-4faabac6674f_story.html
Maguire had been considered a leading candidate to be nominated for the post of DNI, White House aides had said. But Trumps opinion shifted last week when he heard from a GOP ally that the intelligence official in charge of election security, who works for Maguire, gave a classified briefing last Thursday to the House Intelligence Committee on 2020 election security.
It is unclear what the official, Shelby Pierson, specifically said at the briefing that angered Trump, but the president erroneously believed that she had given information exclusively to Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.), the committee chairman, and that the information would be helpful to Democrats if it were released publicly, the people familiar with the matter said. Schiff was the lead impeachment manager, or prosecutor, during Trumps Senate trial on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
The president was furious with Maguire and blamed him for the supposed transgression involving Pierson when the two met the next day.
There was a dressing down of Maguire, said one individual, who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter. That was the catalyst that led to the sidelining of Maguire in favor of Grenell, the person said.