[Infowarrior] - Senate confirms Pompeo as head of CIA

[Richard Forno]

The debate over Rep. Mike Pompeo's nomination also laid bare some of the key flash points in Congress over the role of the intelligence community in domestic surveillance. | Getty

Senate confirms Pompeo as head of CIA

Congressman takes over leading spy agency after an unusually public fight with President Donald Trump

By Ellen Mitchell and Josh Gerstein

01/23/17 08:04 PM EST

Updated 01/23/17 08:18 PM EST

The Senate on Monday confirmed Rep. Mike Pompeo to be director of the CIA, following a spirited debate in which Democrats expressed concern about his stances on domestic surveillance, data collection and torture.

The vote was 66 to 32, with a majority of Democrats voting no -- as well as Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky.

Once sworn in, the Kansas Republican and member of the House Intelligence Committee will take over amid an unusually public fight between the agency and President Donald Trump over intelligence pointing to Russian attempts to influence the election by hacking the emails of leading Democratic Party organizations and officials.

Trump has dismissed those findings and launched several public broadsides against the intelligence community but over the weekend sought to mend fences with a visit to CIA headquarters.

The debate over Pompeo's nomination also laid bare some of the key flash points in Congress over the role of the intelligence community in domestic surveillance and his expressed views on Islam.

Wyden, speaking for more than an hour, repeatedly questioned Pompeo’s confirmation hearing answers, both spoken and written, as well as his true stance on torture and how he plans to run the CIA.

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http://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/cia-confirms-pompeo-as-cia-chief-234086