WASHINGTON – Gina Haspel moved one step closer to becoming the first female director of the Central Intelligence Agency on Wednesday.
The Senate Intelligence Committee gave her a favorable 10-5 vote, sending her nomination to the full Senate floor, where she’s expected to be confirmed.
Haspel, who oversaw a secret CIA prison in Thailand that waterboarded terror detainees after 9/11, assured skeptical Democrats that she would not restart any torture programs.
Haspel, the CIA’s acting director, earned support from the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, Sen. Mark Warner.
“As Director of the CIA, Gina Haspel will be the first operations officer in more than five decades to lead the Agency. I believe that she will be a strong advocate for the Agency’s workforce, and an independent voice who can and will stand up on behalf of our nation’s intelligence community,” Warner (D-Va.) said in a statement.
“Most importantly, I believe she is someone who can and will stand up to the President if ordered to do something illegal or immoral – like a return to torture.”