WASHINGTON (AP) — Without opposition, the Senate has confirmed veteran diplomat William Burns as CIA director. That gives Burns control of the nation’s premier spy agency as the U.S. government confronts threats from China, Russia, Iran and elsewhere. Burns is a former ambassador to Russia and Jordan who served at the State Department for more than 30 years under both Democratic and Republican presidents. He pledged at his confirmation hearing last month that he would deliver “unvarnished” intelligence to the White House. Senate approval, by voice vote, came soon after Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, lifted a hold he had placed on the nomination. At issue was a new gas pipeline from Russia that’s strongly opposed in the U.S. and Eastern Europe.
