The Senate confirmed Williams Burns to be President Biden’s CIA director on Thursday.
His nomination was approved by voice vote with no objections after Sen. Ted Cruz lifted his procedural hold, which the Texas Republican attributed to the State Department’s “strong declaration” hinting at sanctions over the controversial Russia-Germany natural gas Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
Burns was approved unanimously by the Senate Intelligence Committee during a February confirmation briefing.
He is a longtime diplomat who served as deputy secretary of state in the Obama administration and held foreign service posts for more than three decades.
Biden nominated Burns to serve as CIA director in January. Burns will become the first leader in CIA history who has had a full-time career in the State Department.
During the confirmation hearing, Burns spoke about his experience working alongside intelligence offers.
“Good intelligence delivered with honesty and integrity is America’s first line of defense. I learned that intelligence professionals have to tell policymakers what they need to hear, even if they don’t want to hear it,” Burns said.
Burns views China as the United States’s “biggest geopolitical test,” he added.
“China is a formidable authoritarian adversary, methodically strengthening its capabilities to steal intellectual property, repress its own people, bully its neighbors, expand its global reach, and build influence in American society,” Burns said.
Cruz announced his procedural hold release in a statement Thursday, saying, “In light of the Secretary’s strong declaration, I’m following through on my commitment to lift the NS2-related holds I have placed on William Burns.”
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Cruz will also release his hold on Brian McKeon, Biden’s nominee for deputy secretary of state for Management and Resources, he said.
