Ratcliffe faced a brief delay to his nomination from Democrats questioning his independence from President Donald Trump.

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

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.

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

John Ratcliffe, former director of national intelligence during President Trump's first term, has been confirmed by the Senate to lead the CIA — the first person to have held both jobs.

Former Congressman John Ratcliffe is the nation's new CIA director after the Senate voted 74-25 in favor of his confirmation on Thursday.

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

The former Texas lawmaker and prosecutor was Trump's national intelligence director in his first term. He vowed to reject White House political pressure

The Senate is poised to confirm John Ratcliffe as CIA director on Thursday as Republicans work to approve officials to the top posts in his administration amid delays by Democrats.

U.S. Senator Katie Britt, R-Ala., released the following statement after voting to confirm former-U.S. Representative John Ratcliffe, whom President Trump nominated to serve as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Five days after assuming the White House, President Donald Trump is racking up a number of wins and losses after issuing a flurry of executive orders. On Friday, he travels to disaster-hit states of North Carolina and California while new developments play out over his immigration policy and cabinet confirmations.