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

Mr. Ratcliffe was known as a loyalist to the president when he served as director of national intelligence in the final year of the first Trump administration. During his confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee last week, he promised to lead a more aggressive spy agency.

President Trump's nominees for top posts in his administration are gearing up for their Senate confirmation hearings, which kicked off earlier this month.

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.

Pete Hegseth was confirmed after Vice President JD Vance cast a tie-breaking vote in support of his nomination. See how your senators voted.

John Ratcliffe was director of national intelligence during Trump's first term and is the first person to have held that position and the top post at the CIA.

FILE - Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe waits to board Marine One with President Donald Trump on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Dec. 12, 2020. (AP Photo/Patrick ...

U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn both indicated they would support Ratcliffe early on, along with all of Trump’s other nominations. The most important Texas news, sent weekday mornings.

John Ratcliffe, President Donald Trump's choice for director of the Central Intelligence Agency, appears before the Senate Intelligence Committee for his confirmation hearing, at the Capitol in ...