Rep. John Ratcliffe Confirmed as National Intelligence Director

The Senate voted 49-44 Thursday to confirm Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas) as the new director of national intelligence, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Ratcliffe will assume responsibilities from acting DNI Richard Grenell, who will return to his post as the U.S. ambassador to Germany. He will oversee 17 U.S. intelligence agencies with over $80B in combined budgets.

“John Ratcliffe will lead the intelligence community in countering threats from great powers, rogue nations, and terrorists—and ensuring that work is untainted by political bias,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said prior to the vote.

Ratcliffe joined Congress in 2015 and currently sits on the House’s judiciary and intelligence committees. Prior to joining Congress, he served as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Texas.

He appeared before the Senate Intelligence Committee for his confirmation hearing in early May. President Donald Trump announced his plans to nominate Ratcliffe for the DNI post in March.

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