China News Service, Washington, May 21 (Reporter Shahan Ting) The US Senate voted on the 21st local time to pass Ratcliffe's nomination as Director of National Intelligence. Ratcliffe will formally serve as the director of intelligence for the United States.
In the voting on that day, 49 votes in favor and 44 votes against. The voting results were completely in accordance with the distribution of the Republican and Democratic parties in the Senate. Ratcliffe became the nominee with the fewest votes in support for the position.
Senator Minority Leader and Democrat Schumer objected to Ratcliffe's nomination before the vote. He believed that Ratcliffe lacked the "independence and justice" necessary for the position and lacked relevant experience.
Democratic Congressman Wyden said that Ratcliffe had expressed "disturbing remarks" in several key events, so he is very likely to "politicize intelligence."
Senate Majority Leader and Republican McConnell praised Ratcliffe, saying that he would lead various intelligence agencies to respond to multiple threats and ensure that the work "has no political bias."
Ratcliffe has served as a federal congressman since 2015 and is a conservative member of the Republican Party. He is considered by the US media as a "loyal supporter" of President Trump. He has publicly stated that Russia did not intervene in the 2016 US presidential election and believed that the anonymous "whistleblower" who triggered the impeachment Trump investigation was lying.
The post of director of national intelligence has been vacant since the departure of former director Coates in August last year. Last year, Trump nominated Ratcliffe as the director of national intelligence, but Republican lawmakers questioned his lack of experience. In February of this year, Trump nominated Ratcliffe again.
At the nomination hearing held on the 5th of this month, Ratcliffe stressed that he would maintain "independence" and said that no one's point of view will affect the intelligence results.
The National Intelligence Director ’s Office was established after the September 11 terrorist attacks and was responsible for coordinating the operations of 16 US intelligence and security agencies. After taking office, Ratcliffe will face related matters such as the 2020 election and the new crown virus. (Finish)