Senate confirms John Ratcliffe as Trump's CIA director

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 by a vote of 14 to 3. Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), the panel’s vice chair, 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.

“I don't think it's too much to ask to make sure that we have a full, real debate that lasts two days on the Senate floor,” he said Tuesday.

Despite Murphy’s delay, Ratcliffe was largely able to assuage a number of Democrats on a multiple fronts, with members voting “aye” viewing him as a serious nominee due to his stint as DNI and his national security background.

During his confirmation hearing, he specifically told Democrats that he would keep the CIA apolitical and would not fire any agency employees on the basis of political leanings or opposition to the president.

He’s also received bipartisan high marks for his stance on China, having been a longtime proponent of combating the Chinese Communist Party — a topic that came up during his confirmation hearing last week.

“Understand that the nation who wins the race of emerging technologies of today will dominate the world of tomorrow,” Ratcliffe said at the time. “Which brings me to the need for the CIA to continue and increase an intensity to focus on the threats posed by China and its ruling Chinese Communist Party. As DNI, I dramatically increased the intelligence community’s resources devoted to China.”

Ratcliffe has warned that China poses the greatest threat to the U.S. of any nation since World War II and has called for aggressive spying on the world power.

The vote comes after the chamber unanimously confirmed Secretary of State Marco Rubio and officially establishes half of Trump’s initial national security team, with Senate Republicans planning on moving on the other half “in the coming days,” according to Thune.

Thune is expected to move in quick order to confirm South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) and Pete Hegseth to lead the Department of Homeland Security and the Pentagon, respectively.

Noem is expected to be an easier lift than Hegseth, who will have to rely on Republican votes to get through due to Democratic opposition. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee advanced Noem’s nomination in a 13-2 vote on Monday.

Despite early troubles that consumed Hegseth’s nomination last year, he has righted the ship with Republicans and is widely expected to eventually win confirmation despite Democratic attempts to delay a vote.

“If every one of President Trump’s nominees were as qualified and experienced as Sen. Rubio, they’d sail through the Senate with bipartisan support. But sadly, too many of the president’s nominees do not match Sen. Rubio’s caliber,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on the floor.

“Too many have troubling backgrounds. Too many seem unprepared for the job, and proved so during testimony,” Schumer said, though he did not name-check any nominee individually.

Ratcliffe has a number of issues on his plate now following confirmation, some of which were previewed during last week’s hearing. He talked up wanting to strengthen the agency’s intelligence gathering ability and his support for Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows for the warrantless surveillance of foreign targets.

The former Texas congressman also indicated plans to “drill down” on the causes of anomalous health incidents (AHIs) — also known as “Havana syndrome” — after a pair of U.S. intelligence agencies signaled they were possibly caused by foreign adversaries.

The AHIs have affected hundreds of U.S. spies, diplomats and other personnel, and the intelligence community as a whole has not found any links between them and a foreign power.

The CIA in particular has faced criticism for their response to employees who have reported AHI symptoms. A recent Senate Intelligence Committee report faulted the agency’s handling of the matter, saying the agency complicated employees' abilities to get medical care and compensation.

“I share your frustration that four years later we’re very much in the same place in terms of trying to make an assessment and determination on the cause of this,” Ratcliffe told Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). “I share your frustration in not being able to understand why, but if confirmed and have the opportunity to be briefed on all of the assessments and intelligence, my pledge to you is that I will drill down and look carefully at that issue and work with you to see.”

Rebecca Beitsch contributed.

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