John Ratcliffe, former director of national intelligence during President Trump's first term, has been confirmed by the Senate as his new head of the CIA — the first person to have held both jobs.
The Senate approved the nomination Thursday on a 74-25 vote.
Ratcliffe is one of the few figures Trump tapped to return for his second term. The former conservative Texas congressman had been a strong supporter of Trump in 2019, when Trump said on social media that he wanted Ratcliffe to be the director of national intelligence, the position responsible for overseeing all 18 of the nation's intelligence agencies.
The ODNI role is more supervisory, overseeing all 18 of the nation's intelligence services. Unlike the CIA, it does not deal in direct intelligence collection. This means, for instance the CIA collects, and ODNI assembles the intel from the various agencies to put together products like the President's Daily Brief.
Many Democrats objected then, saying Ratcliffe lacked experience and that his main qualification was a fierce loyalty to Trump. Democrats raised similar concerns about his commitment to the president over the law this time around.
Critics have said Ratcliffe adopted Trump's views on Russia and downplayed potential threats from that country. Ratcliffe has placed greater emphasis on China, a position which is also in line with Trump — and is shared by the broader intelligence community.
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