The Senate intelligence committee opened a confirmation hearing on Wednesday for President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be CIA director, John Ratcliffe, a former Republican lawmaker who was accused of using intelligence for political ends as the nation’s top spy during the incoming U.

Get the latest news on the transition to the new administration of President-elect Donald Trump and the new Congress.

Ratcliffe, director of national intelligence for the final months of Trump’s first term, goes before the Senate Intelligence Committee. The former Texas congressman is in line to lead the nation's premier spy agency, responsible for foreign covert operations and collecting data on U.S. adversaries.

The Senate on Wednesday adopted the first amendment to the Laken Riley Act, as Republicans push for a legislative win to open the new Congress. The legislation in its current form would mandate federal detention of immigrants without legal status accused of theft,

Bill requires law enforcement to arrest and detain any undocumented immigrants accused of theft, burglary and other related crimes.

One day after turning the keys to the Governor’s Mansion over to Patrick Morrisey, Jim Justice was sworn in to begin his six-year term in the U.S. Senate Tuesday. Justice took his oath of office Tuesday afternoon in the U.

Former West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice officially became a U.S. senator Tuesday afternoon. Justice took the oath of office on the Senate floor Tuesday with fellow West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito by his side holding the Bible.

Sen. Jim Justice (R-WV) was sworn into the Senate on Tuesday, bringing Republicans one step closer to a 53-seat majority in the upper chamber. Justice took the oath of office one day after he finished his second term as West Virginia governor and six days before President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated for a second term