On Thursday, a majority of the U.S. Senate supported President Donald Trump’s nominee, former Congressman John Ratcliffe, who served as director of national intelligence during Trump’s first term, to head the CIA.
The Senate voted 74-25 to confirm Ratcliffe, with 20 Democrats and one independent joining Republicans in supporting the nomination.
The Republican-led Senate is working to confirm nominees to the administration’s top posts as quickly as possible, starting with President Trump’s national security team.
Former Republican Sen. Marco Rubio was confirmed on Monday, the day of President Trump’s inauguration, and Senate leaders will vote late Thursday on President Trump’s nomination of former Fox News personality Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense. I had planned it.
Members of the Senate Intelligence Committee told Ratcliffe during his nomination hearing last week that he has no right to fire or coerce staffers because of their political views or opinions about Trump, who has frequently attacked the nation’s top intelligence agency and its reputation. I asked him sternly whether he intended to evict him.
Mr. Ratcliffe vowed not to do so, and the committee voted 14-3 in favor of Mr. Ratcliffe at Monday’s meeting, clearing the way for consideration in the full Senate.
Ratcliffe was the country’s top spy, serving as director of national intelligence from May 2020 until January 2021, when Trump left office.
Ratcliffe also said at the hearing that he was confident the United States could stand up to Russia and China, investigate whether U.S. military personnel suffering from “Havana syndrome” are being targeted by adversaries, and use offensive cyber tools. He promised to develop it.
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