Nomination Update

Former Congressman and Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe was confirmed yesterday to be CIA Director, but not before the Senate had to overcome leftist obstructionism.

Ratcliffe should have been confirmed earlier this week. But Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) objected, saying he had “serious concerns” and demanded two days of debate on the Senate floor. 

Murphy’s “concerns” were just stonewalling. In the end, Ratcliffe’s nomination wasn’t controversial at all. He was confirmed 74 to 25. Here’s what Ratcliffe told Breitbart News after his confirmation:

“I know from conversations with the president about where his priorities are . . . as it concerns foreign threats to America’s national security posture, and it starts with China.

“One of the things that I’ve talked about a lot is addressing the threat from China on a number of fronts, and that goes back to why a million Americans died and why the Central Intelligence Agency has been sitting on the sidelines for five years in not making an assessment about the origins of COVID. That’s a day-one thing for me.”

Senators also voted to end the Democrat filibuster of Pete Hegseth’s nomination to be Secretary of Defense. His confirmation vote is expected today. But Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) have made it clear that they will vote against Hegseth.

If every other Republican senator supports him, the vote will be 51 to 49. There are rumors, which had better be false, that Mitch McConnell might vote against Hegseth’s confirmation. That would make the vote 50 to 50 with Vice President Vance breaking the tie.

The final vote on Hegseth’s confirmation is expected to take place later tonight. However, our contacts at the White House and in Congress are telling us that it’s not a done deal. There are concerns that other senators, including Tillis of North Carolina, might jump ship.