Haines confirmed as nation's spy chief
Source: Washington Post
The Senate confirmed Avril Haines as the next director of national intelligence, making her the first member of Biden’s Cabinet to be installed by the chamber.
The 84 to 10 vote represented a strong bipartisan majority for the evenly-split Senate, which is expected to be more closely divided on some of Biden’s other national security nominees. The Senate has yet to consider the confirmations of secretary of state nominee Antony Blinken, homeland security secretary nominee Alejandro Mayorkas, or defense secretary nominee Gen. Lloyd Austin, all of whom had confirmation hearings alongside Haines’s on Tuesday.
Haines’s confirmation faced a last-minute holdup from Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), who insisted on first getting an additional answer from Haines regarding her stance on disciplining CIA officials involved in management failures related to the incidents documented in the Senate Intelligence Committee’s 2013 torture report. Cotton lifted his objection early Wednesday evening, after receiving written assurance from Haines that she would focus on improving accountability at the CIA by looking broadly at systematic management issues, instead of focusing only on individuals’ mistakes.
Incoming Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) called Haines “extraordinarily qualified for the role.” Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who will become the panel’s ranking Republican, also voted in favor of her confirmation.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/01/20/biden-inauguration-day-live-updates/#link-6K2RLTCAPVAN7CTYQC2NCEMKJU
= new reply since forum marked as read
is what happens with the Secretary of Homeland Security confirmation. 