(WASHINGTON) — The Senate on Thursday confirmed John Ratcliffe as CIA director, President Donald Trump's nominee to lead America's premier spy agency and his second nominee to win Senate approval.

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

A former federal prosecutor and Texas Republican, Ratcliffe gained prominence as a congressman as a staunch defender of Trump.