Dan Coats confirmed by US Senate as Trump’s national intelligence chief

Indiana Senator Dan Coats, making him the fifth person to hold the post created after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Updated on: Mar 16, 2017, 01:34:12 IST

AP, Washington | By HT Correspondent

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The Senate has confirmed President Donald Trump’s choice for national intelligence director.

Former Indiana senator Dan Coats will be the national intelligence director. (AP File File)

Senators voted 85-12 Wednesday to approve the nomination of former Indiana senator Dan Coats, making him the fifth person to hold the post created after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Coats replaces James Clapper, who retired at the end of the Obama administration.

As the Trump administration’s top intelligence official, Coats will oversee 16 other intelligence agencies that have been harshly criticized at times by Trump for past failures and their assessment that the Kremlin interfered in the election to help him win.

Senator John McCain of Arizona, the Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Coats will be an effective director and also would restore credibility to the US intelligence community.

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