Gina Haspel was confirmed Thursday as CIA director,
becoming the first woman to lead the agency and overcoming initial Democratic opposition
regarding her role in post-9/11 interrogation and detention practices.
The Senate voted 54-45 to confirm President Trump's
nominee, with six Democrats supporting and two Republicans defecting. Haspel,
whose nomination was endorsed by the Senate Intelligence Committee a day
earlier, previously was deputy director and has spent her career with the
agency.
Trump tweeted his congratulations after the vote.
Haspel earned emphatic support from GOP lawmakers as well
as intelligence community members from both Democratic and Republican
administrations.
"The safety and security of the American people
depend on capable intelligence leadership. Gina Haspel is the right woman at
the right time," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.,
said.
But her history as base chief at a black-site prison
in Thailand in 2002, where techniques such as waterboarding were used on terror
suspects, came under scrutiny during the confirmation process.
Republican
supporters accused Democrats of politicizing her nomination and initially
trying to derail an otherwise highly qualified nominee.
At her confirmation hearing last week, Democrats grilled
her on her views on what they deemed torture, as well as objecting to what they
saw as the CIA’s selective declassification about information on her. She was
also questioned at length about the 2005 destruction of more than 92
interrogation tapes -- a move she said she supported to ensure the safety of
CIA agents.
Haspel refused to criticize her colleagues and superiors
for their conduct during what she called a “tumultuous time,” but said the CIA
under her watch would not resume such techniques. She also defended her own
conduct.
“After 9/11 … I stepped up. I was not on the sidelines, I
was on the frontlines in the Cold War and I was on the frontlines in the fight
against Al Qaeda,” she said in response to a question from Sen. Ron Wyden,
D-Ore.
Haspel’s confirmation had been in question after Sen.
Rand Paul, R-Ky., later joined by Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., said he would not
vote for her.
“While I thank Ms. Haspel for her long and dedicated
service to the CIA, as a country we need to turn the page on the unfortunate
chapter in the agency's history having to do with torture,” Flake said in a
statement Wednesday.
Along with the absence of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., it
meant that Haspel needed Democratic votes to assure her confirmation.
But in the days leading up to Thursday's vote, she picked
up Democratic support, particularly from those in tough midterm re-election
fights. Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., came out to
back her last week, and others followed.
A key factor may have been a letter she wrote to Sen.
Mark Warner, D-Va., vice chairman of the intelligence committee, on Tuesday,
saying: “With the benefit of hindsight and my experience as a senior agency
leader, the enhanced interrogation program is not one the CIA should have
undertaken."
Warner subsequently said in a statement that he believes
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.”
Haspel will replace now-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Adam Shaw is a Politics Reporter and
occasional Opinion writer for FoxNews.com. He can be reached here or on
Twitter: @AdamShawNY.
_________________
IN
OTHER NEWS
Texas high school shooting leaves 8-10 dead,
1 suspect in custody, 1 detained
Students console each other following a school
shooting at Santa Fe High School. (AP)
A Texas high school student unleashed a hail of bullets
inside one of his classes early Friday morning, gunning down eight to 10 people
and explosive devices were found at the school, police said.
The suspected shooter was taken into police custody and a
second suspect has been detained. The suspect in custody and the suspect
detained for further questioning were both students.
Police officers responded to Santa Fe High School around
8 a.m. CDT after reports that a shooter opened fire inside.
The Santa Fe Police Department confirmed explosive
devices were found at the campus of the high school and the "surrounding
areas adjacent to the school." The school has been evacuated and the
campus was cleared, the Santa Fe Police Department said.
A school resource officer was shot and injured and
another officer was also injured in the incident, CBS News reported.
The chief nursing officer at the University of Texas
Medical Branch told reporters the center received two adult patients and one person
under 18 years old.
Galveston County Sheriff's Maj. Douglas Hudson said units
responded to reports of shots fired. Witnesses say a gunman opened fire inside
an art class during first period. A student in the class told KTRK she witnessed at least one girl being shot.
"We thought it was a fire drill at first but really,
the teacher said, 'Start running,'" the student told the news station.
Two seniors at the school told KHOU 11 their friend pulled the fire alarm after
spotting the shooter and urged other students to run. They also said they saw
an injured female student.
“Now I am worried about everyone else,” one student
commented. “ I don’t even want to go to graduation now.”
The student said she did not get a good look at the
shooter because she was running away. She said students escaped through a door
at the back of the classroom.
Authorities have not yet confirmed these accounts.
A 17-year-old student told Fox News her friend was shot
in the leg.
"It was very dramatic because I thought she was
going to the ambulance because we all had to run through and she's very
dramatic so I thought she rolled her ankle or something but when I called her
she was screaming crying saying she got shot in the leg and so much is going on
and is was dramatic," the student told Fox News.
A parent of one of the students told Fox News they drove
to the school immediately after hearing about the active shooting
situation.
"If it can happen in Santa Fe, Texas, it can happen
anywhere," the parent said. "I mean it's just unbelievable."
President Trump tweeted Friday regarding the shooting
stating, "School shooting in Texas. Early reports not looking good. God
bless all!"
Trump mentioned the school shooting during a speech at
the White House Friday.
“Unfortunately I have to begin by expressing our sadness
and heartbreak over the deadly shooting in Texas,” he said. “We send prayers
and support for everyone affected in the horrific attack.
Trump also tweeted again saying he "grieved for the
terrible loss of life, and send our support and love to everyone affected by
this horrible attack in Texas."
"To the students, families, teachers and personnel
at Santa Fe High School - we are with you in this tragic hour, and we will be
with you forever," he concluded.
Trump spoke with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to "offer
his condolences for those affected by the shooting at Santa Fe High
School," an official told Fox News.
The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
(ATF) said it was also on the scene. Harris County Sheriff Ed
Gonzalez tweeted early Friday that he arrived at the school to assist officers
with the Galveston County Sheriff Office.
Santa Fe is a city of about 13,000 residents, located 30
miles southeast of Houston. The incident is the nation's deadliest school
shooting since the February attack in Parkland, Fla., that killed 17 people.
Fox News' Madeline Rivera and the Associated
Press contributed to this report.
