US President Donald Trump leaves a news conference on the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC on May 11, 2020. Photo: AFP

 The U.S. Senate will vote on President Donald Trump's nomination of Congressman John Ratcliffe as the next director of national intelligence (DNI) on Thursday.

The Senate, where Republicans have a narrow majority, is expected to approve Ratcliffe for the post.

Ratcliffe, 54, was nominated again by Trump in February to be the nation's spy chief, several months after the Texas Republican's first nomination was withdrawn amid bipartisan concerns about his qualification.

First elected to the U.S. Congress, Ratcliffe sits on the House Judiciary and Intelligence Committees and was a member of Trump's impeachment defense team.

U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell is currently the acting DNI.

The Trump administration's first DNI, Dan Coats, left the post in August 2019 after a tenure in which he conflicted with the White House on a number of national security issues.

The DNI serves as the head of the U.S. intelligence community.