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The US Senate voted to approve former Texas Congressman John Ratcliffe as the country’s new CIA director, making him the second high-level member to be confirmed in President Donald Trump’s new administration.
All Republicans and 21 Democrats voted in favor of Ratcliffe, who previously served as Trump’s director of national intelligence in the final stretch of his first term.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer had voiced concerns that Ratcliffe may not be able to stand up to Trump or his nominee for Ratcliffe’s old job, Tulsi Gabbard, who, Schumer said, “are known to falsify intelligence.”
Some Republican lawmakers are also worried about Gabbard’s past associations with US adversaries like Russia and Syria; Semafor’s Burgess Everett and Shelby Talcott reported that her nomination remains on “shaky grounds.”
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Ratcliffe’s confirmation came just after Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins came out publicly to oppose Trump’s defense secretary nominee and former Fox News host Pete Hegseth. Murkowski said on social media Thursday that Hegseth had engaged in “behaviors starkly contrast the values and discipline expected of service members.”
Hegseth’s confirmation hearings saw Democrats air multiple allegations of sexual abuse, financial misconduct, and alcoholism, with some lawmakers also drawing attention to his apparent lack of experience for the job.
The Senate will hold a final vote on his prospects on Friday.