WASHINGTON — Former Long Island congressman Lee Zeldin moved a step closer to confirmation as the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency after a Senate committee voted Thursday to recommend that the full Senate approve his nomination.

Former Rep. Lee Zeldin, Donald Trump's pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, will appear before the Senate Environment Committee on Thursday morning around 10:00 a.m. Zeldin, an Army Reserve officer,

WASHINGTON — The Senate voted Thursday to confirm John Ratcliffe as the next CIA director under President Donald Trump, approving the second high-level appointment for the new administration.

John Ratcliffe was director of national intelligence during Trump's first term and is the first person to have held that position and the top post at the CIA.

The Senate is poised to confirm John Ratcliffe as CIA director on Thursday as Republicans work to approve officials to the top posts in his administration amid delays by Democrats.

He has offered a vision for a more aggressive spy agency, and his focus on the threat from China is widely shared by Republican and Democratic lawmakers.

Ratcliffe, Trump’s former director of national intelligence, sought to reassure senators that he would remain apolitical in his role as CIA director.

Ratcliffe, 59, is now the first person to have served as both director of national intelligence and chief of the CIA.

Former Congressman John Ratcliffe is the nation's new CIA director after the Senate voted 74-25 in favor of his confirmation on Thursday.

Senate committees on Thursday approved a handful of Trump Cabinet nominees setting them up for approval by the full chamber.

The Senate has confirmed Marco Rubio as secretary of state, giving President Donald Trump the first member of his Cabinet. The vote was unanimous.

President Donald Trump has kicked off his second term with a flurry of executive actions on immigration, the economy, DEI and more. Trump is discussing his economic agenda in a virtual discussion with those gathered at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland.