Pete Hoekstra, the U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands and former Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, is among the contenders for the role and is being pushed by people close to the White House, according to people familiar with the matter. Reached by phone, Mr. Hoekstra declined to comment…

Mr. Trump said publicly last summer he was considering Mr. Hoekstra for the post after withdrawing his pick of Rep. John Ratcliffe (R., Texas), whose nomination collapsed after it appeared he wouldn’t win Senate confirmation. Mr. Hoekstra, who has been scrutinized for making comments about Muslims and for attacking a Dutch journalist as “fake news” when he was asked about them, would likely also face stiff resistance from Democrats and potentially some Republicans.

On Thursday, Mr. Trump told reporters that among the candidates he is considering to serve as permanent director of national intelligence is GOP Rep. Doug Collins, a conservative congressman and staunch defender of the president who is running against Sen. Kelly Loeffler to be the GOP candidate for a Georgia U.S. Senate seat.