Torture Reaffirmed
By 
A career CIA officer deeply involved in its post-9/11 torture program will be Donald Trump’s next director of the premiere U.S. spy agency, the Senate ensured on Thursday.
In what quickly coalesced into a foregone conclusion this week, Gina Haspel won sufficient support in the Senate, thanks to nearly lockstep support from the Republican majority and pivotal votes from several Senate Democrats, to run Langley.
The vote was 54 to 45, with six Democrats—Joe Donnelly, Mark Warner, Bill Nelson, Jeanne Shaheen, Heidi Heitkamp, and Joe Manchin—backing Haspel. Only Republicans Jeff Flake and Rand Paul opposed her on the floor, as did an ailing John McCain, who was not present to vote. It was the slimmest Senate margin for a CIA director in the agency’s history.
“I will feel safer knowing the CIA has Ms. Haspel at the helm,” said Senate intelligence committee ranking Democrat Warner, whose backing of Haspel all but assured her directorship.
Shame to every Senate Dem who voted to confirm and extra shame to Mark Warner, who I’m confident is telling the truth when he says he affirmatively supports Haspel and didn’t vote yes for political reasons.