U.S. Senate confirms Wray as new FBI director

The U.S. Senate voted Tuesday to confirm Christopher A. Wray as the next director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Wray, with a 92-5 vote, replaces James Comey who was abruptly fired by U.S. President Donald Trump as investigators were looking into possible links between the Trump campaign and the Russian government.

At Wray's nomination debate on Tuesday afternoon, Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar said "this is a tough time to take this tough job."

"The previous FBI director, as we know, was fired because of the Russia investigation. The former acting attorney general was fired. And we've had a slew of other firings throughout the government over the last few months," she said.

Wray was nominated by Trump to succeed Comey as the FBI director in June.

During a confirmation hearing last month, Wray told the Senate Judiciary Committee that he would strive for independence.