The first step of President Trump’s ongoing cabinet shuffle is nearly complete, but there remains doubt about what will follow.
Current CIA Director Mike Pompeo looks set to be confirmed as Secretary of State, after dramatically being reported out of committee on Monday. There are, however, still impediments for Pompeo’s nominated replacement, current CIA Deputy Director Gina Haspel.
Haspel’s selection by President Trump has attracted opposition from Democrats and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.)–because of her involvement in the CIA post-9/11 torture program, and the subsequent cover-up.
With the balance of the Senate 51-49 in favor of Republicans, and with John McCain (R-Ariz.) absent due to illness, Democrats could scupper Haspel’s nomination, if they stand united.
And while Sen. Paul–at the last second, on Monday–walked back his opposition to Pompeo’s State Department nomination, a flip-flop on Haspel could be far more difficult for the Kentucky lawmaker to maneuver. In March, Paul wrote an op-ed for Politico, chronicling in great detail his criticism of the career intelligence official.
“What is known is that Haspel participated in a program that was antithetical to the ideals of this country,” the senator wrote. “She destroyed evidence in defiance of our ideals.”
Meanwhile, Democrats are pushing for the CIA to allow senators to fully review Haspel’s record–and to publicly release information related to her involvement in the torture program.
On Tuesday, the Agency said it would allow senators to review only some of the documents related to Haspel’s past, and that it was “actively working towards” publicly sharing some of this information, according to The Hill.
A trio of Senate Democrats reacted furiously on Wednesday, describing these offers as “wholly inadequate.”
“Concealing her background when no sources and methods are at stake shows nothing but contempt for the Senate and the public,” said Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.).
The three lawmakers said the public should know if Haspel “was a senior manager for a program that has been shown to be deeply flawed, as well as a number of other disturbing facts about her record.”
More conservative members of the Senate Democratic Caucus might not be persuaded by this criticism. But, so far, not a single Democrat has promised to support Haspel. Three have come out pledging “yes” votes on Pompeo—Joe Manchin (D-W.V.a), Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.), and Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.).
Similarly, Rand Paul might not be the only Republican to vote “no” on Haspel. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said Sunday: “We still have a lot of questions to ask.”
John McCain might also reject the nominee, if he is present for the vote. He reacted to Haspel’s nomination by asking for an explanation about “her involvement in the CIA’s so-called ‘enhanced interrogation’ program.”
