President Trump’s nominee to run the CIA, who appeared to be at risk of flaming out in the Senate in April, is now on a much smoother path to confirmation and could win Senate confirmation this month.
However, her confirmation will hinge on Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., changing his opposition, or a red-state Democrat voting in her favor.
Gina Haspel, who has served in the agency for more than three decades and is now its acting director, will answer questions from the Senate Intelligence Committee when it holds what will likely be a contentious confirmation hearing on May 9.
Several Democrats on the panel appear poised to oppose Haspel over her role overseeing the CIA’s use of enhanced interrogation techniques. But Republicans, who have a one seat majority in the committee, are closing in on the numbers needed to approve her nomination later this month and send it to the Senate floor.
With just one announced GOP opponent, Haspel could win confirmation with a 50-49 vote (Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is home battling cancer), with just one Democratic vote or Paul flipping his opposition. She could even win the backing of some politically vulnerable red-state Democrats, administration officials said, just as Mike Pompeo ended up winning a handful of Democratic senators by the final vote.
“We are on track for where we thought we would be, or maybe a little ahead,” an administration official told the Washington Examiner, characterizing the status of Haspel’s path to confirmation.
Haspel’s nomination has at times appeared in jeopardy. As soon as President Trump nominated her, she attracted intense, immediate opposition from some Democrats and outside groups, who pointed to her involvement in the agency’s counterterrorism program as a significant cause for concern.
The RNC is launching a “coordinated effort to pressure Democrats” into voting for Haspel and GOP sources say they believe Haspel could win more Democratic votes than newly sworn-in Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Pompeo won the backing of seven Democrats.
Vocal opponents include Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., a top member of the Intelligence panel.
One Republican, Sen. Rand Paul, of Kentucky, announced he will not vote for Haspel because of her role overseeing the use of enhanced interrogation techniques, which were employed in the years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and have been labeled by many as torture.
But none of the Senate Intelligence panel’s eight Republicans has declared opposition to Haspel, and most have announced their support for her nomination.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, a member of the panel, said she is undecided and plans to make a decision following Haspel’s confirmation hearing. Collins said last month, however, that she has met with Haspel and believes a newly released report shows she was not involved in destroying dozens of videos of CIA interrogations of suspected terrorists.
The memo clearing Haspel of involvement alleviated a major concern, Collins told NBC on April 22. She added, “But we still have a lot of questions to ask her.”
A spokesman for Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said there is no announcement on when the Senate would take up Haspel’s nomination. The Senate Intelligence panel has not scheduled a vote yet, either.
After the May 9 hearing, typically the nominee will have to provide additional information to senators, which would put off consideration until the following week at the earliest.
Once approved in committee, the Senate can consider Haspel’s nomination whenever McConnell schedules the vote.
Intelligence Committee Democrats said the CIA must declassify more records related to Haspel’s role in the agency’s enhanced interrogation program, and issue that could come up in next week’s hearing. Lawmakers have access to the information, but Democrats want the public to be able to view it.
“It’s completely unacceptable for the CIA to declassify only material that’s favorable to Gina Haspel, while at the same time stonewalling our efforts to declassify all documents related her involvement in the torture program,” Feinstein said.
Agency officials told senators in a letter sent last month that the information that remains classified is kept secret under the law to protect lives and national security.
The agency released a timeline of Haspel’s tenure at the agency, dating from her time as a trainee in 1985. The timeline includes posts throughout Europe and the U.S. and describes her language skills in Spanish, French, Turkish, and Russian and “extensive training as an operations officer.”
Democrats say the timeline is not enough information, but it won’t stop next week’s hearing, according to a spokesperson for Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C.
“While some will likely never be satisfied, the Chairman is pleased by the type and amount of information the committee is receiving about Ms. Haspel’s career,” the spokesperson said. “We look forward to the expeditious consideration of her nomination in the committee and on the floor of the Senate.”
