The US Senate (the upper house of the US Congress) confirmed John Ratcliffe as director of the Central Intelligence Agency - this is the second confirmed member of President Donald Trump's new government, the Associated Press reported, quoted by BTA.
Ratcliffe was director of national intelligence during Trump's first term. He is the first person to hold the position to be appointed to the CIA's top job.
The Texas Republican is a former federal prosecutor who emerged as a staunch Trump defender while serving in Congress during Trump's first impeachment.
He was confirmed today by a vote of 74 to 25, with 20 Democrats and one independent joining Republicans in supporting the nomination, Reuters notes.
At his Senate hearing last week, Ratcliffe said the CIA should make greater use of technologies such as artificial intelligence to counter adversaries such as Russia and China. He said the US must improve its intelligence capabilities while ensuring the protection of Americans' civil rights.
Ratcliffe then said that if confirmed, he would push the CIA to do more to implement technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing, while expanding the use of human intelligence gathering.