Trump CIA Director Pick John Ratcliffe Confirmed by US Senate
(Bloomberg) -- The Senate overwhelmingly confirmed John Ratcliffe as director of the Central Intelligence Agency, installing another core member of President Donald Trump’s national security team.
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Ratcliffe, 59, a fierce Trump loyalist who was national intelligence director in the president’s first administration, stressed in confirmation hearings the need to counter threats from China and other US adversaries.
He was confirmed Thursday in a 74-25 vote, the second Trump nominee to be approved by the Senate after Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s confirmation on Monday.
Ratcliffe won support from leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee, including top committee Democrat Mark Warner of Virginia after he assured Warner the agency under his leadership would produce objective analysis and protect CIA employees from political interference. He promised to “speak truth to power” and protect Americans’ civil liberties.
That’s a marked departure from 2020, when the former Republican congressman and prosecutor from Texas faced unified Democratic opposition when he was confirmed as Trump’s national intelligence director.
Ratcliffe, who earlier withdrew himself from consideration for that post amid accusations that he exaggerated his qualifications, eventually won Republican support for the nomination following his staunch defense of Trump during the former president’s first impeachment. At the time, Democrats expressed concern Ratcliffe would take political orders from Trump or misrepresent intelligence.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune praised Ratcliffe’s experience and said he would provide “objective intelligence analysis without bias.”
Other Trump second-term nominees, including Defense pick Pete Hegseth and Tulsi Gabbard, the former congresswoman Trump picked for Ratcliffe’s prior job as director of national intelligence, face stronger opposition.
Hegseth’s combative confirmation hearing failed to quell Democrats’ concerns about allegations of sexual misconduct, excessive drinking and financial mismanagement at two nonprofits Hegseth ran. Democrats also have cast doubt on his ability to lead the $850 billion department’s complex budget and bureaucracy.
--With assistance from Natalia Drozdiak.
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