Senate confirms Trump’s nominee to run the CIA
Secretary of state pick narrowly wins committee approval
Washington — The Senate on Monday confirmed President Donald Trump’s nominee to run the CIA despite some Democratic objections that Rep. Mike Pompeo has been less than transparent about his positions on torture, surveillance and Russia’s meddling in the U.S. election.
The vote was 66-32. Pompeo was sworn in by Vice President Mike Pence Monday evening.
Pompeo takes the helm at the nation’s top spy agency at a crucial time for U.S. national security as intelligence — traditionally a nonpartisan issue — has been thrust into the political arena. Trump has been critical of intelligence agencies after their assessment of Russian involvement to help him win the election while the new president also has said he is fully behind them.
Senate Republicans had hoped to vote on Pompeo’s nomination Friday, after Trump’s inauguration. But Democrats succeeded in stalling action until they could debate.
Democratic Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden on Monday said Pompeo was the “wrong man for the job.”
“He has endorsed extreme policies that would fundamentally erode liberties and freedoms of our people without making us safer,” Wyden said. He said Pompeo’s answers to questions from some senators have been “vague” and “contradictory,” making it impossible to know what Pompeo believes.
“I see no real commitment to transparency and his views on the most fundamental analysis of the day — the involvement of Russia in our election — seemed to shift with those of the president,” Wyden said.
In written responses to questions from the Senate, on Jan. 3, Pompeo said only that intelligence agency assessments in general should be taken seriously. After Trump conceded Russia was behind the campaign hacks, Pompeo on Jan. 12 told the Senate intelligence committee that particular assessment was “solid.”
Secretary of state: Rex Tillerson’s bid to be secretary of state narrowly won approval Monday from the Republicanled Foreign Relations Committee, a move that all but assures Senate confirmation of Trump’s choice to be the nation’s top diplomat.
Members of the committee voted along party lines, 11-10, to back Tillerson following a contentious confirmation hearing nearly two weeks ago that stoked concerns he might not win the panel’s recommendation. But just hours before members cast their votes, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) declared his support for Tillerson, backing off from a challenge to the new president.
Rubio said that despite serious reservations about Tillerson, particularly over his views on Russia, he believed a president was entitled to significant deference in assembling his cabinet.
None of the committee’s 10 Democrats voted for Tillerson. They cited concerns Tillerson would continue to view the world through the lens of a corporate executive and not the nation’s chief diplomat.
Attorney general: The top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee plans to request a delay in the confirmation vote on Trump’s nominee for attorney general, a move that will push the panel’s vote back to Jan. 31.
The Judiciary panel was scheduled to vote Tuesday on Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions’ nomination. But committee rules allow any member of the panel to hold a vote over until the next week, and members of both parties frequently do. A spokesman for California Sen. Dianne Feinstein said Monday that she will request the extra week “to give the committee more time to conduct its due diligence.”
FCC: Trump has picked a fierce critic of the Obama-era “net neutrality” rules to be chief regulator of the nation’s airwaves and internet connections.
Ajit Pai said he was grateful to the president for choosing him as the next chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. Several reports last week had said he was the pick.
Pai had been one of the two Republican commissioners on a five-member regulatory panel.