Sen. Tom Cotton took a dig at the liberal media for its early dismissal of he lab-leak hypothesis after the CIA's newly released assessment supporting the theory.

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.

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.

Trump's pick to be CIA director promised in his confirmation hearing to hone in on setting strong intelligence collection priorities and "demanding relentless execution."

Republicans and Democrats praised the former lawmaker and intelligence official, who vowed not to use political loyalty tests at the CIA.

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

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

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

Donald Trump is huddling with House Republicans at a GOP retreat on Monday. Keep up with live updates from the USA TODAY Network.

New CIA director John Ratcliffe says the most likely cause of the Covid 19 pandemic was a lab-related incident in Wuhan, a judgment the Biden administration kept secret.