President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday that former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe is his choice to take charge Central Intelligence Service.

In a Truth Social post, Trump referred to Ratcliffe as “a fighter for truth and honesty” and said, “I look forward to John being the first person ever to serve in both of our nation’s top intelligence positions.”

Trump has made a steady series of announcements about top aides and nominees for his second administration, without as much drama as his first transition after his 2016 victory. He also said Tuesday that he had chosen former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee as ambassador to Israel and his old friend Steven Witkoff as special envoy to the Middle East.

Ratcliffe, a Republican congressman from Texas, served as director of national intelligence in the final months of Trump’s first term, leading the US government’s spy agencies during the coronavirus pandemic. He is seen as a more traditional choice for the role, which would require Senate confirmation, than some rumored loyalists being pushed by some Trump supporters. His last confirmation in the Senate, for the role of DNI, was a fact party lines.

As director of intelligence, he was criticized by Democrats for releasing Russian intelligence in the final days of the 2020 presidential election that claimed damaging information about Democrats in the 2016 race, even as he acknowledged this may not have been true .

Ratcliffe’s visibility increased when he emerged as a staunch defender of Trump in 2019 during the House of Representatives’ first impeachment proceedings against him. He served on Trump’s impeachment advisory team and interviewed witnesses during the impeachment hearings.

After the Democratic-led House voted to impeach Trump, Ratcliffe called it “the thinnest, fastest, weakest impeachment our country has ever seen.” He also vigorously questioned former special counsel Robert Mueller when he testified before the House Judiciary Committee about his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.