Gordon’s departure is the latest instance of tumult in the Intelligence Community, and it’s generating significant concern among national security officials.

“She’s been a staunch believer in the Intelligence Community’s responsibility to speak truth to power,” said a former senior intelligence official. “You wouldn’t want to lose that when she walks out the door.”…

Gordon spent decades in government, and she built a reputation as an effective, non-partisan workhorse with fans in both parties on Capitol Hill. At her Congressional hearing to be Coats’ deputy (a Senate-confirmed post to which Trump nominated her), her broad support actually generated levity. Mark Warner, the Vice Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, cited a post on the Cipher Brief about her in his opening remarks:

“She’s ‘said to be widely liked by members of both political parties, deeply respected,’ ‘straight shooter,’ and a whole series of other wonderful compliments,” Warner said. “So if you screw up, this is going to come back and bite you.” Senators chuckled––the joke was, how could Gordon ever screw something up?