Senate confirms John Ratcliffe to lead the CIA

(LOS ANGELES TIMES) – The Senate on Thursday confirmed John Ratcliffe as CIA director, giving President Trump the second member of his new Cabinet.

Ratcliffe was director of national intelligence during Trump’s first term and is the first person to have held that position and the top post at the CIA, the nation’s premier spy agency. The Texas Republican is a former federal prosecutor who emerged as a fierce Trump defender while serving as a congressman during Trump’s first impeachment.

“The Intelligence Committee favorably reported Mr. Ratcliffe’s nomination on a bipartisan vote: 14 to 3,” Thune (R-SD) noted in a Wednesday speech, accusing Murphy of needlessly calling for floor debate to which only one Democrat showed up.