Dems under pressure to block Pompeo, Haspel
Liberal activists are campaigning to defeat Trump’s secretary of state and CIA picks — but it’s unclear whether Senate Democrats will unite against them.
By ELANA SCHOR 03/19/2018 03:29 PM EDT
Senate Democrats are coming under pressure from the left to tank President Donald Trump’s latest Cabinet nominees, setting up a major test of unity for the party.
Trump’s choice of CIA Deputy Director Gina Haspel to lead the spy agency and CIA chief Mike Pompeo to be the next secretary of state is fueling a fierce opposition campaign among liberal and civil rights groups. Activists sense an opening to derail Haspel’s bid and at least complicate Pompeo’s confirmation, given that the White House will need some Democratic support to pull the nominees across the finish line.
It’s not just Haspel’s previous role in the use of interrogation tactics tantamount to torture against CIA detainees. Pompeo has taken a highly hawkish stance on Iran and amassed a controversial record on Islam, fodder for the left’s campaign to persuade 15 Senate Democratic Caucus members who voted for him to be CIA director to oppose him as State Department chief.
With Senate Democrats still trying to heal a schism between moderates and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) over a banking deregulation bill, the Pompeo and Haspel confirmation fights offer the chance for a moment of reconciliation between the wings of the Caucus — or a further fracturing that finds vulnerable red-state incumbents on the GOP’s side.
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https://www.politico.com/story/2018/03/19/senate-democrats-pompeo-haspel-confirmations-471532
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