Previously, he was the U.S. Representative for Kansas's 4th congressional district from 2011–17. He was a member of the Tea Party movement within the Republican Party.[4][5] He was a Kansas representative on the Republican National Committee and a member of the Italian American Congressional Delegation. On November 18, 2016, he was nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to be Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate 66–32 on January 23, 2017.[6][7]