Dragging feet on nominees for government positions is one of Washington D.C.’s most treasured wastes of taxpayer time and money. And most annoying.
The hearings are a soundbite bonanza where every two-bit politico tries to score points and press. The need for someone to fill a vital role is of far less importance to whichever party is in opposition than the need to stop the party in power from accomplishing goals. And the subsequent reduced effectiveness of whatever agency is in question is a great way to indict the current administration for not getting anything done.
In short, it’s a cudgel opposition parties use to make life hell for the big chair. This is not a part-specific ill. But there must be a limit and in the case of Director of the CIA, we’re at it.
Gina Haspel should be confirmed, and more people are saying it. Here’s a great excerpt from the Wall Street Journal, courtesy of the White House:
In a long career with the Central Intelligence Agency, Gina Haspel has held senior positions around the world supervising covert action, managing U.S. spies’ collection of human intelligence and working on counterterrorism efforts, according to biographical summary of her career declassified by the agency on Tuesday.
Ms. Haspel, who is President Donald Trump’s pick to be the next director of the CIA, held key roles in the agency’s post-Soviet European operations and international posts in more than 30 short-term assignments, the CIA said. She started with the agency 33 years ago in Africa as a young case officer.
…
The newly declassified CIA timeline of Ms. Haspel’s career shows she worked as a case officer in the late 1980s and early 1990s in Africa and Europe. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ms. Haspel become an intelligence-operations officer and then rose up the ranks in the agency’s Russia operations. Already partially fluent in Spanish and French, Ms. Haspel also learned Turkish and Russian while serving at the agency.
During Ms. Haspel’s career, she had an unexpected encounter with Mother Teresa. In the late 1980s, during her first overseas assignment, Ms. Haspel was working weekend duty when the legendary nun and missionary sought to speak to President Ronald Reagan about wheat shortages in a country that remains classified. Ms. Haspel invited her in, and the State Department arranged the phone call, leading Mother Teresa to invite Ms. Haspel to the local orphanage, people familiar with Haspel’s career said. The children also visited the U.S. embassy.
Mother Teresa hung out with her. Y’all.
The RNC is pushing hard on this subject, as is the White House obviously. The Free Beacon reports:
The Republican National Committee is launching a coordinated effort to pressure Democrats in Republican states to support President Donald Trump’s CIA director nominee Gina Haspel.
The RNC said it will be launching a similar strategy to the one successfully implemented to get newly-sworn-in Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirmed last week.
The RNC’s war room team will monitor all print and TV coverage in real time to allow for quick pushback on any opposition, and promotion of positive coverage and video clips. The organization’s research team will also be working to consistently remind reporters and surrogates about positive statements about Haspel made by current and former members of the intelligence community.
In addition to pushing positive positions, the rapid response team and outside groups will be pushing back in real time on false or unfair Haspel criticism, along with promoting positive op-eds, TV interviews, etc.
RNC spokesman Michael Ahrens said that if Democrats vote against Haspel, then they will be to the left of the intelligence officials from the Obama administration who have praised the nominee and voiced their support for her confirmation.
As noted previously here at the Right Scoop, it’s not just Democrats giving her a hard time. Rand Paul tried to sink Haspel with a bit of fake news, for example.
Still, it’s time for this process to come to a close, and the facts on Haspel show she’s the right choice. Secretary Sanders was tweeting about her earlier today.
There is no one more qualified to be the first woman to lead the CIA than 30+ year CIA veteran Gina Haspel. Any Democrat who claims to support women’s empowerment and our national security but opposes her nomination is a total hypocrite
— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) May 5, 2018
And the ACLU lied about her today, too.
Gina Haspel’s promotion to lead the CIA would be a direct endorsement of torture, sending that message both to governments that torture and to the people who endure horrific abuse. https://t.co/4NNwjsXe7m
— ACLU (@ACLU) May 5, 2018
Both are good reasons to support her.
As the Free Beacon adds, her support cross party lines outside of Congress. So it should do the same within.
RNC spokesman Michael Ahrens said that if Democrats vote against Haspel, then they will be to the left of the intelligence officials from the Obama administration who have praised the nominee and voiced their support for her confirmation.
“Gina Haspel has received broad bipartisan praise for the decades she’s spent protecting our national security, even when it meant putting her own life at risk,” said Ahrens.”If red state Democrats plan to oppose the first female CIA director because of terrorist interrogations that occurred in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, it’ll put them to the left of all the Obama administration officials who say she’s universally qualified.”
It’s time to call this a no-brainer and confirm Gina Haspel.