2 Democrats join Republicans on the Senate Intelligence Committee to recommend Gina Haspel as CIA director

Gina Haspel.
(Image credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

The Senate Intelligence Committee voted 10-5 on Wednesday to recommend the Senate confirm Gina Haspel as CIA director, The Associated Press reports. Haspel on Tuesday issued a statement claiming she believes the CIA's use of controversial interrogation techniques like waterboarding after 9/11 "ultimately did damage to our officers and our standing in the world," which was evidently enough to win over the votes of Democratic Sens. Mark Warner (Va.) and Joe Manchin (W.Va.). The rest of the Democrats on the committee voted against Haspel.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who is undergoing treatment for brain cancer and is away from the Senate, has urged his colleagues to vote against Haspel due to her work at a CIA "black site" in 2002 where terror suspects were waterboarded. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has also suggested he will not vote for Haspel when the vote comes to the full Senate, which could be as soon as this week.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.