The Senate confirmed John Ratcliffe, former director of national intelligence, as head of the CIA on Thursday by a 74-25 vote.
In November, then-President-elect Donald Trump announced his selection of Ratcliffe as the next director of the intelligence agency.
Ratcliffe’s Stance on China During Confirmation Hearing
The Hill reported that the former Texas congressman warned about the threat posed by China to the U.S. during his confirmation hearing.
“Understand that the nation who wins the race of emerging technologies of today will dominate the world of tomorrow,” Ratcliffe told lawmakers. “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.”
He noted that he would keep the CIA politically neutral and would not terminate agency employees based on their political views about the president.
John Ratcliffe’s Professional Background
He most recently served as co-chair of the Center for American Security at the think tank America First Policy Institute.
In 2021, he became a visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation after serving as DNI under the first Trump administration.
Ratcliffe started his career as a lawyer and served in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas.
