The Senate on Wednesday afternoon overwhelmingly confirmed former Sen. Dan Coats to be the director of national intelligence by an 85-12 vote and voted to preserve National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster’s three-star lieutenant general rank.
Coats was confirmed by an 85-12 vote and McMasters’ retention of his rank was approved 86-10.
Coats, a non-controversial nominee, is widely respected by his former Senate colleagues and picked up several Democratic senators in his confirmation vote.
The Indiana Republican will replace James Clapper as DNI. Clapper stepped down at the end of the Obama administration and recently has publicly disputed Trump’s claims that President Obama wiretapped Trump Towers during the campaign.
In the powerful intelligence post, Coats, 73, will face a tough political climate overseeing the same intelligence agencies that are examining Russia’s attempts to meddle in the 2016 presidential campaign amid Congressional probes of potential ties between the Trump campaign and Moscow.
The Senate’s vote to allow McMaster to retain his three-star rank was essentially a formality. The position of national security adviser doesn’t require Senate confirmation, but McMaster did need a vote to allow to serve in the position and keep his rank.
McMaster, however, could have stayed in the role as a two-star or civilian even if the vote had failed.
