John Ratcliffe, whom US President-elect Donald Trump has nominated to be CIA director, said during his Senate hearing that the top US intelligence agency must improve its work to deal with global threats posed by Russia, China and other rivals, the Associated Press reported, quoted by BTA.
Ratcliffe, who was the director of national intelligence (DNI) during Trump's first term, told the Senate Intelligence Committee that if his nomination is confirmed, he will encourage the CIA to implement more technologies such as artificial intelligence, while also expanding the use of human resources to gather intelligence.
"We are not where we are supposed to be," Ratcliffe said.
Republicans praised Ratcliffe for his professional experience, but Democrats were more skeptical, asking whether his loyalty to Trump would conflict with his duty to monitor intelligence. Ratcliffe assured lawmakers that he would put the CIA's mission first.
Ratcliffe is a former federal prosecutor and congressman representing a district in Texas. He was a fierce defender of Trump during the first impeachment proceedings in the House of Representatives.
A series of hearings are taking place in the Senate this week for senior Trump nominees. The Republican-controlled upper house of Congress wants some nominations to be confirmed as soon as possible after Trump's scheduled inauguration on Monday.
Ratcliffe's experience as director of national intelligence and his confirmation by the Senate as CIA director are expected to significantly improve his chances of becoming head of the spy agency. However, the situation is different for Tulsi Gabbard, whom Trump has nominated to head the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI).
Gabbard, a former representative from Hawaii, has faced criticism from members of both parties for her past pro-Russia comments and meetings she had in 2017. with former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Trump and some Republicans have criticized the work of the CIA and other intelligence agencies, saying they are too focused on issues such as climate change or diversity among their personnel.
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton pointed to the recent attack in New Orleans as an example of a deadly incident that occurred without any warning from the intelligence community.
"In these dangerous times, our intelligence community did not anticipate significant events and did not detect attacks in preparation," Cotton said during a Senate hearing today. "I could give you other examples, but these are enough to say that too often we are in the dark… The CIA has neglected its core mission," the committee chairman added.
Calls for radical change have worried some current and former intelligence officials. They say the approach could affect U.S. security.
If Ratcliffe is confirmed, he would succeed William Burns as CIA director.
Trump first nominated Ratcliffe to be director of national intelligence in 2019, but he quickly backed out after lawmakers raised questions about his qualifications. Ratcliffe was ultimately confirmed by a sharply divided Senate after Trump resubmitted the nomination.