GOP pushes for speedy confirmation vote for Haspel

WASHINGTON » Republicans are pushing for a speedy confirmation vote as early as today after the Senate intelligence committee endorsed President Donald Trump’s CIA nominee Gina Haspel to lead the spy agency.

But opponents concerned about Haspel’s role in CIA covert detention sites after 9/11 could delay a vote.

The committee voted 10-5 in Haspel’s favor Wednesday, paving the way for her expected confirmation to become the first woman to lead the CIA. Republicans leaders in the Senate want to hold that vote before the end of the week, but she is opposed by Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky and some Democrats who could object. Haspel’s nomination has reopened debate about the CIA’s now-defunct program of detaining terror suspects overseas at secret lockups and trying to get them to talk by subjecting them to sleep deprivation and other harsh interrogation techniques.