WASHINGTON — The Senate on Thursday confirmed John Ratcliffe as CIA director, giving President Donald Trump the second member of his new Cabinet.

John Ratcliffe was confirmed to be the next director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) on Thursday, making him the second of President Donald Trump's cabinet picks to secure their position.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate confirmed former Texas Congressman John Ratcliffe to serve as the next director of the CIA on Thursday.

The Senate voted to confirm John Ratcliffe as the next CIA director approving the second high-level appointment for the Trump administration.

The Senate overwhelmingly confirmed John Ratcliffe as director of the Central Intelligence Agency, installing another core member of President Donald Trump’s national security team.

A former federal prosecutor and Texas Republican, Ratcliffe gained prominence as a staunch defender of Trump as a congressman.

In a big win for the surveillance state, Trump is attacking one of the government's only internal oversight agencies.

A majority of the U.S. Senate on Thursday backed President Donald Trump's nominee John Ratcliffe, a former House of Representatives member who served as Director of National Intelligence during Trump's first term,

A Senate Democrat is blocking a streamlined process to vote on Trump's nominees, forcing the Senate to take lengthy procedural votes. This strategy was employed by Republicans while in the minority.

The U.S. Senate is expected to hold a confirmation vote on Tuesday on John Ratcliffe, President Donald Trump's nominee for CIA Director, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said.

Ratcliffe, 59, is now the first person to have served as both director of national intelligence and chief of the CIA.

Ratcliffe, Trump’s former Director of National Intelligence, sought to reassure senators that he would remain apolitical in his role as CIA director.