CIA chief’s confirmation delayed in congress

WASHINGTON — When newly sworn-in President Donald Trump tours CIA headquarters in Langley, Va., on Saturday afternoon, the man he picked to lead the agency will not yet be in charge.

The war between Trump and the CIA boiled over into the U.S. Senate on Inauguration Day, as Republicans slammed Democrats for delaying the installation of Kansas Rep. Mike Pompeo as Trump’s new spy chief.

The CIA has been locked in a battle with Trump over allegations that Russian President Vladimir Putin was behind an effort to sway the election in Trump’s favor. Partisan wrangling over the CIA post just hours after Trump took the oath of office showed how politicized the agency has become.

As a result, Pompeo will spend at least one more weekend representing Kansas’ 4th Congressional District.

Former President Barack Obama’s appointee, John Brennan, resigned as director of the CIA effective at noon Friday. The CIA’s deputy director also stepped down.

For now, the CIA has delegated authority to the agency’s executive director, Meroe Park.

Park, the No. 3 in the CIA’s hierarchy, is in charge of the agency until a permanent director and deputy director take the helm. Park is a career CIA official, not a political appointee.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., blamed Senate Democrats for blocking a confirmation vote for Pompeo and leaving the CIA leaderless. The vote had been expected to happen Friday, after Trump’s swearing-in as the 45th president.

“We live in dangerous times” and it’s critical for the president to have a national security team in place by Day One, McConnell said.

“That includes, in particular, the director of the CIA,” he said. “It makes no sense to leave the post open. Not for another week, not for another day, not for another hour. America’s enemies will not pause in plotting, planning and training just because the Democrats refuse to vote.”

McConnell tried to call for Pompeo’s confirmation by unanimous consent Friday, but Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon objected.

McConnell agreed to give Democrats six hours to debate Pompeo’s fate on Monday.

As Wyden pointed out, the Senate has never confirmed a CIA director on Inauguration Day. Leon Panetta, for example, was sworn in on Feb. 13, 2009, several weeks after Obama’s inauguration.

Wyden and his fellow Democrats Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut joined forces Friday to oppose what they said was “a rushed confirmation” of Pompeo.

“The importance of the position of CIA director, especially in these dangerous times, demands that the nomination be thoroughly vetted, questioned and debated,” the senators said in a statement.

They said the CIA could protect the nation “under the leadership of its senior professional personnel” until Pompeo could be confirmed.