The U.S. Senate confirmed President Joe Biden's first cabinet pick, voting to give the green light for his nominee for America's spy chief, Avril Haines, on his first day at the White House, multiple news sources reported Thursday.
The vote was 84-10, with all the "nay" votes coming from Republicans.
Haines previously served as the deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency and deputy national security advisor under former U.S. President Barack Obama.
She succeeds John Ratcliffe, a Republican from Texas and staunch Trump supporter who was widely reputed as having too little experience for the intelligence director position.
The national intelligence is comprised of 18 intelligence divisions that saw an extraordinary level of politicization during the Trump administration.
Both Democrats and top Republicans praised Haines' nomination. Among leading Republicans who voted against Haines were senators known to have party leadership aspirations: Josh Hawley of Missouri and Ted Cruz of Texas.
During confirmation proceedings before the Senate intelligence panel on Tuesday, Haines pledged to steer the intelligence office away from politics.
"The DNI must never shy away from speaking truth to power, especially when doing so may be inconvenient or difficult," Haines said in a statement.
Haines also said that as chief of the intelligence, she would prioritize crafting America's response to China's aggression and bracing for the next global health crisis.
Also praising her selection, Mark Warner, a Democrat from Virginia who will head the intelligence body in the new Senate, said that after being undermined during Trump's presidency, the U.S. intelligence community deserves "a strong, Senate-confirmed leader to lead and reinvigorate it."
In addition to Haines, Janet Yellen to the U.S. Treasury Department is another pick likely to win a quick vote in the Senate, although there still needs to be a deal to hold votes on the nominations.
