Ratcliffe confirmed as next national intelligence director with narrowest approval vote in position's history

Rep. John Ratcliffe testifies for the Senate.
(Image credit: ANDREW HARNIK/POOL/AFP via Getty Image)

Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas) has won the Senate's approval to become the next director of national intelligence — barely.

The Senate voted 49-44 to approve President Trump's nominee for the position, along party lines, with several senators not voting. That means Ratcliffe ended up with the smallest number of approval votes in the DNI position's 15-year history, The Washington Post notes.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Kathryn Krawczyk

Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.