President Donald Trump on Wednesday called on the Senate to confirm Gina Haspel as CIA director after she was endorsed by the Senate Intelligence Committee, tweeting that "we need her to keep our great country safe."
"She is exceptionally qualified," Trump said in his post:
The Intelligence Committee voted 10-5 to advise the full Senate to confirm Haspel, 61, whose nomination has renewed debate over the harsh interrogation program the CIA conducted on terror suspects after 9/11.
She has told Congress that the agency should not have used such harsh tactics and has vowed not to restart them.
The panel released the results of the closed-door vote without providing further details.
However, all eight Republicans and two of the seven Democrats earlier expressed support for Haspel.
The remaining five Democrats had said they would not back her nomination.