President Trump’s designee to replace Mike Pompeo as CIA director has put Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., in a tough position.
Gina Haspel, a decorated CIA veteran who would be the first female to lead the agency, is distrusted among Democrats for implementing the Bush administration’s enhanced interrogation technique program, which critics believe constituted torture. Haspel and her superior at the time were involved in giving the order to destroy the video evidence related to those activities.
Indeed, right out of the gate on Tuesday, several Senate Democrats — including Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I. — expressed opposition to her nomination. But Feinstein, who faces a left-wing primary challenge in this year’s election, was not among them. The California Democrat would not commit to voting against Haspel’s nomination, and praised her tenure as Pompeo’s deputy director.
Asked by a reporter about her opposition to an earlier promotion that Haspel was up for in 2013, Feinstein replied, “Well, I have spent some time with her, we’ve had dinner together, we have talked … everything I know is, is that she has been a good deputy director of the CIA….I think hopefully the entire organization learned something from the so-called enhanced interrogation program. I think it’s something that can’t be forgotten. And I certainly can never forget it. And I won’t let any director forget it,” the senator added, revealing she shared a “long personal talk” with Haspel about the program.
Pressed to say whether she’s “a no” on Haspel’s nomination, Feinstein appeared to be undecided. “No, right now I’m late for my hearings,” she said.
Feinstein is facing a surprisingly robust primary challenge from Democratic state Sen. Kevin de Leόn, which already seems to have nudged her leftward as she competes for the nomination. It’s very unlikely Feinstein will actually lose, but frustration with her perceivably establishment politics is clearly mounting among California’s progressive voter base. Last month, not only did the longtime senator fail to secure the state party’s endorsement at its annual convention, but de Leόn beat her by a margin of 17 percent of delegates.
If Feinstein believes Haspel is the right woman for the job, a “yes” vote could really upset Golden State progressives already dissatisfied with her job performance. On Tuesday afternoon, de Leόn seized on Feinstein’s early reaction to Haspel. “It is very concerning Senator Feinstein is ‘open to supporting’ CIA nominee Haspel, who ran a ‘black site’ prison that waterboarded and beat prisoners,” he tweeted. “Believes she has been a ‘good’ deputy CIA Director.”
Regardless of her own interests, Feinstein may plausibly determine Haspel is unfit for the position. But the senator’s ambiguity on Tuesday signals some measure of respect for the nominee, indicating the decision won’t come easily no matter what.
Pressure from progressive primary voters could prove to be a determining factor.
