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.

Pete Hegseth, President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Pentagon, faces a key procedural hurdle in the Senate on Thursday on advancing his nomination. The vote will occur after lawmakers consider the nomination of John Ratcliffe for CIA director.

Senate Majority John Thune (R-S.D.) has set up a vote to confirm former Fox News host and Army veteran Pete Hegseth to become the next secretary of defense under President Donald Trump.

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 ...

A Princeton and Harvard-educated former combat veteran, Hegseth went on to make a career at Fox News, where he hosted a weekend show. Trump tapped him as the defense secretary to lead an organization with nearly 2.1 million service members, about 780,000 civilians and a budget of $850 billion.

Pete Hegseth was sworn in to lead the Department of Defense on Saturday, after a narrow vote in the Senate. The vote on Friday night was initially 50-50, with Vice President JD Vance then casting the tie-breaking vote.

Three Republicans voted with every Democrat against Trump’s controversial pick to lead the Pentagon, forcing Vance to step in and put Hegseth over the top.

President Trump said he told King Abdullah II of Jordan during a phone call Saturday that he would like Jordan and Egypt to take in more Palestinians from Gaza, an idea that is likely to reignite debate about the future of nearly two million Palestinians.

Surprise third Republican Mitch McConnell opposed Hegseth’s confirmation after a series of revelations about his personal life and alleged misconduct

JD Vance forced to break Senate nail-biter tie to confirm Pete Hegseth as Defense Secretary - Surprise third Republican Mitch McConnell opposed Hegseth’s confirmation after a series of revelations abo

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order aiming to declassify remaining federal records relating to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr. Speaking to reporters Thursday, Trump said, “Everything will be revealed.”

Pete Hegseth was confirmed as defense secretary late Friday by the U.S. Senate after Vice President JD Vance broke a 50-50 tie as Senate president.