US President Donald Trump's pick to be the next CIA director appears headed for confirmation as Gina Haspel picks up Democratic support and is expected to get a nod from the Senate intelligence committee.
Five Democrats announced they would vote to confirm Haspel, a career intelligence official who is acting director of the agency. The day before Wednesday's committee vote, three of the Democrats said they'd back her shortly after she toughened her stance against harsh interrogation.
Haspel's nomination has sparked renewed debate over brutal interrogation practices the CIA used on terror suspects after 9/11. Haspel was involved in supervising a secret CIA detention site in Thailand.
During her confirmation hearing last week, she said she didn't believe torture worked as an interrogation technique and that her "strong moral compass" would prevent her from carrying out any presidential order she found objectionable.
Haspel also said she would not permit the spy agency to resume its harsh interrogation program, which became one of the darkest chapters of the CIA's history and tainted America's image worldwide.
But she would not disclose any details of what she did in connection with the interrogation program or say whether she thought it had been immoral.
Bolstering the comments she made during her hearing, Haspel wrote, "I do not support use of enhanced interrogation techniques for any purpose."
The Senate intelligence committee is expected to vote in closed session. The full Senate could hold a confirmation vote before the end of the week.
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