Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, called Donald Trump’s choice of Haspel to lead the agency “the right woman at the right time”. But Haspel’s nomination was contentious because of her role in a former CIA program to brutally detain and interrogate terror suspects at covert sites abroad following 9/11. Several senators said Haspel was not forthcoming in answering questions about her role in the torture program or the CIA’s decision to destroy videotaped evidence of the sessions. Most other Democrats, including those eyeing presidential runs in 2020, voted against Haspel in what may become a defining issue for Democrats. A protester in the Senate visitor gallery briefly disrupted speeches ahead of the vote with shouts against the CIA.

Source: The Guardian May 17, 2018 21:52 UTC