John Ratcliffe confirmed as next CIA director, becomes second Trump nominee to gain congressional approval

John Ratcliffe was confirmed to beryllium the adjacent manager of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) connected Thursday, making him the 2nd of President Donald Trump's furniture picks to unafraid their position. 

The Senate's afloat support of Ratcliffe came aft a 14-3 ballot by the Senate Intelligence Committee connected Monday evening, which precocious Ratcliffe's information to the Senate level Thursday. By a ballot of 74-25, Ratcliffe was confirmed. 

Ratcliffe antecedently served arsenic Trump's Director of National Intelligence (DNI) from May 2020 until January 2021, during the president's archetypal word successful office. At the time, Ratcliffe faced scrutiny implicit whether helium was adequately qualified for the relation and whether his loyalty to Trump mightiness unreality his judgment. Ratcliffe's eventual information was approved on enactment lines.   

BREAKING DOWN THE SENATE HEARINGS FOR TRUMP'S CABINET NOMINEES

Donald Trump's nominee for CIA Director, John Ratcliffe, appears for a Senate Intelligence confirmation proceeding connected Capitol Hill connected Jan. 15, 2025 successful Washington, DC. Ratcliffe, a erstwhile blimpish congressman from Texas, served arsenic Director of National Intelligence during Trump's archetypal term. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images) 

Prior to Ratcliffe's relation arsenic DNI, helium was a subordinate of the House of Representatives since 2015, serving Texas's 4th Congressional District. During Ratcliffe's tenure successful Congress, helium served connected the House Permanent Select Committee connected Intelligence from 2019 until his determination to DNI the pursuing year.

Ratcliffe's confirmation this clip astir has garnered enactment from immoderate Democrats, including from the apical Democrat connected the Senate's intel committee, Rep. Mark Warner of Virginia, who voted successful favour of Ratcliffe's confirmation.

MODERATE REPUBLICAN MURKOWSKI WON'T BACK TRUMP PICK HEGSETH FOR DEFENSE SECRETARY

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for CIA Director John Ratcliffe speaks with erstwhile Attorney General John Ashcroft (R) arsenic helium arrives for a Senate Intelligence confirmation proceeding connected Capitol Hill connected January 15, 2025 successful Washington, DC. Ratcliffe, a erstwhile blimpish congressman from Texas, served arsenic Director of National Intelligence during Trump's archetypal term. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

During Ratcliffe's archetypal confirmation proceeding past week, erstwhile lawmakers probed him implicit however helium would grip the relation arsenic CIA manager if confirmed, Ratcliffe said helium would destruct politicization and "wokeness" successful the agency's workforce. Ratcliffe added that helium plans connected focusing connected the agency's attack to technology, saying that helium thinks it has struggled to support gait with the tech improvement occurring successful the backstage sector.

Ratcliffe volition besides instrumentality a hawkish stance towards China, too, according to radical adjacent to Ratcliffe, the Wall Street Journal reported past week.

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Ratcliffe's confirmation makes him the 2nd of Trump's nominees to garner legislature approval, aft Marco Rubio. The Republican-controlled Senate said it plans to enactment overtime to get the remainder of Trump's nominees approved quickly, with Senate Majority Leader John Thune insisting successful a station connected X, formerly Twitter, Tuesday evening, that they would enactment "nights, weekends, recesses" until the process is complete.