Senate poised to confirm John Ratcliffe as CIA director

Washington — The Senate is poised to confirm John Ratcliffe as CIA director on Thursday as Republicans work to approve officials to the top posts in President Trump’s administration amid delays by Democrats.

Senate Democrats slowed Ratcliffe’s confirmation after his nomination advanced out of committee earlier this week, forcing procedural maneuvers to extend consideration of his nomination in recent days. Still, Ratcliffe’s nomination was advanced with wide margins in a 72-26 procedural vote Thursday morning.

Sen. John Barrasso, the Republican whip, celebrated that the Senate was poised to confirm Ratcliffe’s nomination, calling it “a win for our national security,” while noting that it “should have been done two days ago.”

“But Democrats unnecessarily delayed this important vote,” Barrasso continued. “John Ratcliffe is undeniably qualified for the job, he’s going to lead the CIA without bias, and with the safety of the American people being his priority.”

On Tuesday, Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, objected to a time agreement that would have allowed the Senate to quickly vote on Ratcliffe’s nomination, expressing “serious concerns” about Ratcliffe’s ability to distance himself from Mr. Trump’s political interests and urging that it wasn’t too much to ask for senators to have time to debate the nomination on the floor.

Ratcliffe, a former congressman from Texas, served as director of national intelligence in the final months of Mr. Trump’s first term. Mr. Trump had initially picked Ratcliffe to lead the nation’s spy agencies earlier in his first term, but withdrew his name amid questions about his qualifications for the role. Months later, Mr. Trump again nominated Ratcliffe, and the Senate confirmed him as director of national intelligence without any support from Democrats. 

Testifying last week before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Ratcliffe said he’s devoted his professional life to national security “for roughly a quarter of a century.” And he promised that if confirmed, he would focus on “setting and communicating priorities and demanding relentless execution.” 

He pledged that if was confirmed, the CIA would be rededicated to its intelligence-gathering mission.

“We will collect intelligence — especially human intelligence — in every corner of the globe, no matter how dark or difficult,” Ratcliffe said.

Ratcliffe served on the House Intelligence Committee and House Judiciary Committee during his time in Congress and was a staunch defender of Mr. Trump through his first impeachment and investigations into Russian election interference. Democrats criticized Ratcliffe for declassifying Russian intelligence alleging damaging information about members of their party during the 2016 race, intelligence that Ratcliffe acknowledged might not be true.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Thursday morning that he would “respectfully vote no” on Ratcliffe’s confirmation, saying he’s “deeply worried that Mr. Ratcliffe will be unable to stand up to people like Donald Trump.”

“I have my doubts that Mr. Ratcliffe will be able to hold firm,” Schumer added.

Despite the concern from Democrats, Ratcliffe is considered to be a more traditional choice than some of Mr. Trump’s other nominations after previously serving in a Senate-confirmed position. The Senate also generally prioritizes nominees serving in national security roles when a new administration begins. 

Ratcliffe told the intelligence committee that the U.S. faces “what may be the most challenging national security environment in our nation’s history,” saying that the challenges “increase the necessity of confirming a CIA director who is prepared on Day 1 to take them head-on.”

Caitlin Yilek

contributed to this report.