The Senate on Thursday voted to confirm John Ratcliffe, his nominee to head the CIA, making him the second of President Trump's nominees to be confirmed. Mr Ratcliffe then took the oath on Friday morning.
Prior to Ratcliffe's confirmation, the Senate confirmed current Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday. Mr. Rubio was approved unanimously, while Mr. Ratcliffe was confirmed by 53 Republicans, 20 Democrats, and one independent senator. A total of 24 Democrats and one independent voted against Ratcliffe's confirmation.
While Ratcliffe's confirmation process has been relatively frictionless and bipartisan overall, other candidates have faced several hurdles.
Prior to the formal confirmation vote, Mr. Ratcliffe was confirmed by the Senate Intelligence Committee in a 14-3 vote.
Alaska Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan said, “Secretary Ratcliffe, who served as Director of National Intelligence in the first Trump administration, is well qualified to lead the CIA and ensure the safety of the American people.'' . said in a statement Thursday.
While Ratcliffe's confirmation process has been relatively frictionless and bipartisan overall, other candidates have faced several hurdles.
Republicans are scheduled to vote to confirm Pete Hegseth, President Trump's nominee to head the Pentagon. Hegseth is hugely popular with President Trump's base, but she has been criticized by several senators, including Republicans, over allegations of alcohol abuse, sexual misconduct, and past disapproval of women serving in combat roles. has lost support.
Notably, many of the allegations were made anonymously and are vehemently denied by Hegseth.
The Republican majority is slim at 53 seats, and assuming all Democrats vote against Hegseth and Vice President J.D. Vance votes as the tiebreaker, Hegseth would only lose three Republican votes.
Two of these three “no” votes have already been claimed by Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Susan Collins (Maine). Both Murkowski and Collins have a history of opposing Trump and his party.
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