US Senate confirms John Ratcliffe as CIA Director

The Upper Chamber on Thursday voted 74-25 to approve the nomination of Ratcliffe, who served as Trump's Director of National Intelligence for the last eight months of his first term, Xinhua news agency reported.

Washington: The US Senate has voted to confirm former Director of National Intelligence (DNI) John Ratcliffe as the next Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director under President Donald Trump.

The Upper Chamber on Thursday voted 74-25 to approve the nomination of Ratcliffe, who served as Trump’s Director of National Intelligence for the last eight months of his first term, Xinhua news agency reported.

---

Confirming the news, the White House shared a post on X and wrote, “@JohnRatcliffe’s confirmation as Director of the CIA marks a significant step in advancing President Trump’s vision to restore America’s strength on the world stage.”

As DNI Director, Ratcliffe led a shift in the US Intelligence Community’s priorities to gain a decisive strategic advantage over China and provided oversight of numerous operations to remove designated terrorist leaders from the battlefield.

Director Ratcliffe also made the historic decision to elevate space to a priority intelligence domain by adding the US Space Force as the 18th member of the US Intelligence Community and received the National Security Medal, the nation’s highest honour for distinguished achievement in the field of intelligence and national security, according to White House.

As a Congressman, Ratcliffe was a leading policy maker on national security issues as a member of the House Intelligence, Homeland Security and Judiciary committees.

Ratcliffe previously served as a US House representative for Texas’s 4th congressional district from 2015 to 2020.

Twenty-one Democrats joined Republicans in supporting Ratcliffe’s nomination, indicating bipartisan support in a divided political climate.

Thursday’s vote took place three days after the Senate unanimously confirmed US Senator from Florida Marco Rubio as Secretary of State, just hours after Trump’s inauguration, making it the second major appointment for the new administration.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune has set up votes for more of Trump’s nominees, including Pete Hegseth, nominated for Secretary of Defense. Hegseth has faced criticism for his lack of military leadership experience, as well as allegations of alcohol abuse, sexual assault, and financial mismanagement of organisations he led.

Thune has criticised Democrats for delaying Trump’s nominees, urging them to allow quick votes on the matter.

Republicans currently have a 53-47 majority in the Senate. To confirm a presidential nomination, a simple majority is needed, meaning the Republicans can afford to lose no more than two votes if all Democrats oppose the nomination.