WASHINGTON: The US intelligence chief announced his resignation on Thursday before a Congress committee as Donald Trump expedited his efforts to form his cabinet.

“Submitted my letter of resignation last night, which felt pretty good,” Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told the House Select Committee on Intelli­gence.

In the US, all members of an outgoing administration must resign days before the president-elect takes oath of his office.

Donald Trump’s inauguration as the 45th US president is scheduled for noon on Jan 20, 2017 at the US Capitol.

The outgoing president, Barack Obama, will leave the White House, his official residence for the past eight years, the same day. He has said he intends to remain in Washington.

The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies has supervised the event since 1901 and it has invited thousands of people from across the world to attend the inauguration.

Mr Clapper announced his resignation when a Congressman jokingly said that he hoped the intelligence chief would be around for another four years.

“I have 64 days left and I’d have a pretty hard time with my wife going past that,” Clapper told Democratic lawmaker Adam Schiff.

Director of National Intell­ igence is the principal intelligence advisor to the US president and oversees 17 intelligence agencies that range from the CIA and NSA to FBI and various military intelligence outfits.

Published in Dawn, November 18th, 2016