Photo taken on July 7, 2021 shows the US Capitol building in Washington, D.C., the United States. The highly transmissible Delta variant has overtaken the Alpha variant to become the dominant variant in the United States, according to new estimates from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).(Photo:Xinhua)

The US Senate on Monday unanimously confirmed Jen Easterly as director of the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).

The Senate approval came as the administration of President Joe Biden was under increased pressure to react to a series of ransomware attacks that experts and intelligence officials blamed on Russian hackers. 

Easterly previously served as the deputy for counterterrorism at the National Security Agency, and as the senior director for counterterrorism on the White House National Security Council under former president Barack Obama.

Before the Senate approved Easterly's nomination through unanimous consent, Senator Gary Peters, Democrat of Michigan who chairs the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, expressed frustration that the nominee, who sailed through her confirmation hearing last month, was not confirmed earlier.

In criticizing Republicans for delaying Easterly's confirmation, Peters highlighted the "relentless targeting of the US" by "nation state actors and criminal organizations" that persisted between now and the time the Senate adjourned for the Fourth of July holiday.

Rick Scott, Republican senator from Florida, blocked a proposed unanimous consent vote on Easterly's confirmation on June 23, arguing the vote should be delayed until after Vice President Kamala Harris's visit to the US-Mexico border, which happened two days afterward.

Peters in his remarks on Monday pointed to the ransomware attack on software group Kaseya earlier this month that hit up to 1,500 businesses worldwide. Cybersecurity experts have blamed the attack on Russian-linked cybercriminal group.