Sen. Rand Paul said Sunday he plans to do “whatever it takes” to block Gina Haspel from being confirmed by the Senate as the director of the CIA, including attempting to filibuster her nomination.
Paul, R-Ky., has said he will oppose Haspel because of her role in the CIA’s torture program after the Sept. 11 attacks, when she oversaw a secret prison in Thailand where terrorism suspects were subject to brutal interrogation techniques.
“I’ll do whatever it takes, and that includes filibuster,” Paul said on “CNN’s State of the Union.”
“I will try to make a point to the American people, and maybe the American people will rise up and say, you know, we stand in solidarity with those who seek freedom from torture, not the freedom to torture. There’s no way she should be running our spy agencies with all of their power.”
With Paul opposing Haspel and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., receiving treatment for brain cancer, Republicans need some Democratic support to get her confirmed.
Haspel, now the agency’s deputy director, is a CIA veteran who would become the first woman to lead the spy agency, if confirmed.
Paul also reiterated Sunday he will oppose Mike Pompeo’s nomination for secretary of state.
President Trump nominated Pompeo, the current CIA director, to be the nation’s top diplomat after he fired Rex Tillerson as secretary of state.
Pompeo is a former conservative congressman from Kansas with “hawkish” foreign policy views.
“He [Trump] keeps appointing people around him that love the Iraq war so much, that they’re ready for a war with Iran next,” Paul said. “So, I don’t think you really want people who are eager for war to be running the State Department. You want a diplomat. I frankly think that Pompeo’s positions are too much of an advocate for regime change, really everywhere. North Korea, Iran, Russia, you name it.”
Another Republican senator, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, said Sunday Paul’s views are outside the Republican mainstream. He said he plans to support Pompeo ahead of crucial Trump administration decisions and actions on North Korea’s nuclear program, and the Iran nuclear deal.
“He’s close to the president,” Graham said of Pompeo on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “He shares the president’s worldview that North Korea is a dangerous threat to the homeland, that we need a better deal with Iran, and I think he can do an outstanding job explaining to the world President Trump’s foreign policy. He’s very much in the mainstream as a Republican. Someone you would expect the Republican to pick for this job. And he will get confirmed.”
Graham said he would support Haspel, and is looking for her to disavow torture of terrorist suspects.
“I’m looking for her to acknowledge that this behavior is no longer allowed and that she will adhere to the law, as it exists,” Graham said. “She, again, is very highly qualified. She is excellent at what she does, but she will have to adhere to the law as it exists today and that will be the test for me.”
