The U.S. Senate has confirmed Air Force General Michael Hayden as the new director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
Senators approved the nomination of the four-star general by a vote of 78-15 Friday.
At his confirmation hearing last week, Hayden defended a controversial domestic surveillance program that he launched, calling it legal and necessary to fight terrorism.
Some lawmakers questioned the legality of the program, which monitors phone calls between people in the United States and suspected terrorists abroad.
The program began when he ran the National Security Agency.
Hayden succeeds Porter Goss, who abruptly resigned earlier this month after allegedly clashing with National Intelligence Director John Negroponte. Hayden is Negroponte's deputy.
