The Senate on Thursday confirmed John Ratcliffe to lead the Central Intelligence Agency in overwhelming bipartisan fashion, making him the second member of President Trump’s national security team to be approved by the upper chamber.
Senators confirmed Ratcliffe in a 74-25 vote. Twenty-one members who caucus with Democrats voted with every present Republican. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) did not vote.
“He will bring valuable knowledge and experience to his new post,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said on the floor earlier this week, pointing to Ratcliffe’s tenure as Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and on the House Intelligence Committee. “Mr. Ratcliffe brings the right experience and the right approach to the CIA, and I look forward to working with him in his new position.”
Ratcliffe’s nomination cleared the Senate Intelligence Committee, 14 to 3. Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), the panel’s vice chairman, was among Ratcliffe’s backers.
Republicans, however, were unable to process him as quickly as they had hoped. Thune hoped to confirm him by Tuesday night or Wednesday, but Democrats threw up a last-minute roadblock in order to further delay Pete Hegseth’s confirmation to run the Pentagon.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) blocked his speedy passage, pointing to “serious concerns” some of his Democratic colleagues had about Ratcliffe and questions about his willingness to distance himself from the president’s political interests while serving as DNI in 2020.