John Ratcliffe confirmed as Trump's new CIA director

The US Senate has confirmed President Donald Trump's nominee John Ratcliffe as director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), making him the second Cabinet member of Trump's administration.

Ratcliffe was the director of national intelligence during Trump’s first term, and is the first person to hold that role and the top job at the CIA.

The Senate voted to confirm Ratcliffe by 74-25, with 20 Democrats and one independent joining Republicans in backing Trump's pick.

The Texas Republican and former federal prosecutor outlined his vision for the CIA at a Senate hearing last week, arguing that the agency should be less averse to risk and more willing to undergo covert operations.

“We will collect intelligence, especially human intelligence, in every corner of the globe no matter how dark or difficult," he said at the hearing. "We will conduct covert actions at the direction of the president, going places no one else can go and doing things no one else can do."

Although he did not go into specifics on US intelligence priorities, Ratcliffe said that the agency should better utilise technology like artificial intelligence and quantum computing to confront adversaries including Russia and China.

"We’re not where we’re supposed to be," Ratcliffe told members of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Ratcliffe has said he views China as the country's greatest geopolitical rival, and that Russia, Iran, North Korea pose challenges to national security. He has also raised the threats presented by drug cartels, hacking gangs and terrorist organisations.

Although some Democrats had raised questions about Ratcliffe's ability to run the agency objectively, the new director said during his hearing that he would lead the CIA free of "political and personal bias".

Trump and other Republicans have previously criticised the work of the CIA and other spy agencies, claiming they focused too much on issues such as climate change and workforce diversity. The calls for a broad overhaul have caused concern among some current and ex-intelligence officials who say the changes could make the US less safe.

Trump has long been suspicious of intelligence agencies, having previously accused them of trying to undermine his first term in office as well as his electoral campaigns.

During his first tenure as president, Trump portrayed officials in such agencies as part of a so-called "deep state" plot against him and infamously sided against the country's intelligence officials and with Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2018 when asked if he believed Moscow meddled in the 2016 election.

However, as with other Trump nominees, Ratcliffe is a loyalist of the president. Aside from his work to defend Trump during his first impeachment proceedings, Ratcliffe also forcefully questioned former special counsel Robert Mueller when he testified before lawmakers about his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election

Ratcliffe has been previously accused by Democrats of politicising intelligence when he declassified Russian intelligence that alleged to reveal damaging information about Democrats during the 2016 election, despite acknowledging it may not be true.

The new CIA director becomes the second member of Trump's administration after former Florida senator Marco Rubio was named secretary of state this week.

Trump’s second-term nominee for director of national intelligence, controversial former Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, likely faces a tougher path to confirmation.

Gabbard has faced criticism from Democrats and Republicans alike over past controversial comments in support of Russia and 2017 meetings with then-Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Her hearing is scheduled for the 30 January.