The US Senate has approved the confirmation of former Director of National Intelligence (DNI) John Ratcliffe as the next Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director under President Donald Trump.
The Upper Chamber on Thursday voted 74-25 to approve the nomination of Ratcliffe, who served as Trump's Director of National Intelligence for the last eight months of his first term, Xinhua news agency reported.
Confirming the news, the White House posted on X, saying, "Confirming @JohnRatcliffe as Director of the CIA is a major step forward in working to make America stronger on the world stage, which President Trump believes in."
As DNI Director, Ratcliffe led a shift in the US Intelligence Community's priorities to gain a decisive strategic advantage over China and provided oversight of numerous operations to remove designated terrorist leaders from the battlefield.
Director Ratcliffe also made the historic decision to elevate space to a priority intelligence domain by adding the US Space Force as the 18th member of the US Intelligence Community and received the National Security Medal, the nation's highest honor for distinguished achievement in the field of intelligence and national security, according to White House.
As a Congressman, Ratcliffe was a leading policy maker on national security issues as a member of the House Intelligence, Homeland Security and Judiciary committees.
Ratcliffe previously served as a US House representative for Texas's 4th congressional district from 2015 to 2020.
Twenty-one Democrats joined Republicans in supporting Ratcliffe's nomination, indicating bipartisan support in a divided political climate.
Thursday's vote occurred three days after the Senate approved US Senator from Florida Marco Rubio unanimously as Secretary of State in a voice vote just hours after Trump's inauguration, marking his second major appointment.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune has scheduled votes for more of Trump's nominees, including Pete Hegseth, nominated for Secretary of Defense. Hegseth has been criticized for his lack of military leadership experience, as well as allegations of alcohol abuse, sexual assault, and financial mismanagement of organizations he led.
Thune has criticized Democrats for delaying Trump's nominees, urging them to allow quick votes on the matter.
Republicans currently maintain a 53-47 edge in the Senate. To advance a presidential nominee, a majority is required-which means the Republicans can lose only two votes at most if all of the Democrats oppose the nomination.
Read also| Rubio Discusses Trump's Key Foreign Policy Priorities with NATO Secretary General