WASHINGTON — Former Texas congressman John Ratcliffe, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the CIA, vowed to make the agency more muscular while keeping its work apolitical during his nomination hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday.

A former U.S. Representative from Texas is President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the nation’s intelligence agency. John Ratcliffe, who previously represented the 4th congressional district from 2015 to 2020, was tapped this week to be CIA director for the upcoming administration.

Every four years, the Texas State Society of Washington hosts thousands of Texans for a ball the night before the presidential inauguration.

Ratcliffe identified China as the U.S.'s greatest geopolitical rival as he testified before the Senate on Wednesday.

Texans have been tapped to run the CIA, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Agriculture.

Former Texas congressman John Ratcliffe, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the CIA, vowed to make the agency more muscular while keeping its work apolitical during his nomination ...

WASHINGTON − John Ratcliffe, President-elect Donald ... intelligence committee and as a top federal prosecutor in Texas. Ratcliffe pledged repeatedly to focus more on the rising threat posed ...

Trump said of Ratcliffe's nomination, "I look forward to John being the first person ever to serve in both ... Before being elected to Congress, Ratcliffe served as the mayor of Heath, Texas, from 2004 to 2012. He also worked as a U.S. attorney and federal ...

Trump’s administration is directing that all federal diversity, equity and inclusion staff be put on paid leave, and that agencies develop plans to lay them off, according to a memo from the Office of Personnel Management.

Trump’s administration is directing that all federal diversity, equity and inclusion staff be put on paid leave, and that agencies develop plans to lay them off, according to a memo from the Office of Personnel Management.

By The Associated Press Donald Trump began his first day as the 47th president of the United States with a dizzying display of force, signing a blizzard of executive orders that signaled his