DALLAS (1080 KRLD) - Congressman John Ratcliffe has been sworn in as the Director of National intelligence. Ratcliffe had served as Congressman in Texas' fourth district since 2015.
Ratcliffe was first nominated to oversee the nation's intelligence agencies last year. He withdrew his name after lawmakers from both parties questioned his experience.
Ratcliffe is a former Mayor of Heath and served as a federal prosecutor during the George W. Bush administration. He defeated former Congressman Ralph Hall in the 2014 Republican primary in District Four, which covers much of Northeast Texas between Dallas and the Louisiana border, and has been in office since January 2015.
President Donald Trump nominated Ratcliffe again earlier this year. Last week, he was approved by the Senate by a vote of 49-44. Ratcliffe becomes President Trump's fourth director of national intelligence and first approved by Congress since Dan Coats resigned last August.
"Confronted with a diverse and challenging global threat landscape, my highest priority as Director of National Intelligence is to provide timely, accurate, and objective intelligence to inform the President and policymakers, and ultimately to keep all Americans safe,” Ratcliffe wrote in a statement.
To join the president's cabinet, Ratcliffe leaves his seat in Congress. The seat will remain empty until after the election this November.