Here's how senators say they'll vote on CIA director nominee Haspel
CNN/Stylemagazine.com Newswire | 5/15/2018, 12:17 p.m.
By Daniella Diaz, CNN
(CNN) -- Gina Haspel appeared before senators of the Senate Intelligence Committee last week to make her case as to why she should be the next CIA director to replace Mike Pompeo, who became secretary of state, and she continued her effort to lobby senators this week.
Haspel's role in the George W. Bush administration's interrogation program was front-and-center for her confirmation hearing, where she faced pointed questions about her views on interrogation of detainees and her role in the destruction of CIA tapes.
Republicans hold a very slim -- 51 to 49 -- majority in the Senate, and with Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul saying he'll vote against Haspel and Republican Sen. John McCain -- recovering from brain cancer treatment in Arizona -- advising the Senate not to approve her nomination, Haspel's supporters are expected to need the votes of at least a few Democrats in order to get her confirmed, though that exact number depends largely on if any additional Republicans choose to buck their party's President.
So far, two Democrats have said they will back Haspel -- Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Sen. Joe Donnelly of Indiana, both of whom are up for re-election in states President Donald Trump won in 2016. To garner more support for Haspel, Republicans are targeting other vulnerable Democrats this midterm in states that voted for Trump.
Here's a look at the vote count so far:
* Senators with stars next to their name are members of the Senate Intelligence Committee and will have to vote Haspel out of their committee before it reaches the floor. Neither vote has been scheduled.
DEMOCRATS VOTING YES OR LIKELY VOTING YES
*Sen. Joe Manchin (West Virginia)
Sen. Joe Donnelly (Indiana)
DEMOCRATS UNDECIDED
Sen. Claire McCaskill (Missouri)
Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (North Dakota)
Sen. Patrick Leahy (Vermont)
Sen. Patty Murray (Washington)
Sen. Dick Durbin (Illinois)
Sen. Jack Reed (Rhode Island)
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (New York)
Sen. Bill Nelson (Florida)
Sen. Tom Carper (Delaware)
Sen. Ben Cardin (Maryland)
Sen. Sherrod Brown (Ohio)
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (Minnesota)
Sen. Chris Murphy (Connecticut)
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (New Hampshire)
* Sen. Mark Warner (Virginia)
Sen. Jeff Merkley (Oregon)
Sen. Michael Bennet (Colorado)
Sen. Tina Smith (Minnesota)
Sen. Chris Coons (Delaware)
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (Connecticut)
Sen. Tammy Baldwin (Wisconsin)
Sen. Doug Jones (Alabama)
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (Nevada)
Sen. Maggie Hassan (New Hampshire)
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (Maryland)
DEMOCRATS VOTING NO OR LIKELY VOTING NO
*Sen. Ron Wyden (Oregon)
Sen. Gary Peters (Michigan)
Sen. Cory Booker (New Jersey)
Sen. Debbie Stabenow (Michigan)
Sen. Bob Menendez (New Jersey)
Sen. Tom Udall (New Mexico)
Sen. Mazie Hirono (Hawaii) - "I recently reviewed some of the classified materials regarding her, and I had concerns about her. After reading these materials it would be difficult for me to vote for her, so I will not be voting for her," she told CNN on Friday, May 11
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (Rhode Island)
Sen. Maria Cantwell (Washington)
Sen. Jon Tester (Montana) -- "I am not a fan of waterboarding," he told CNN on Tuesday.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (Illinois)
*Sen. Dianne Feinstein (California) -- "I will not vote to confirm Gina Haspel as the next director of the Central Intelligence Agency. The CIA's Rendition, Detention and Interrogation Program is one of the darkest chapters in our nation's history and it must not be repeated," she said in a statement.
*Sen. Martin Heinrich (New Mexico) -- "If you can't admit or recognize that mistakes were made that makes me question whether you are going to to be able to avoid those mistakes in the future," he said during Haspel's hearing Wednesday.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent who caucuses with Democrats -- "We need a new CIA director who is committed to the rule of law and will heed the advice of US military leaders who vigorously oppose torture and uphold the values that have made us a great and respected nation. Ms. Haspel is the wrong choice to lead the CIA, and I will oppose her nomination," he said in a statement.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Massachusetts)
Sen. Ed Markey (Massachusetts)
Sen. Brian Schatz (Hawaii)
Sen. Bob Casey (Pennsylvania)
*Sen. Kamala Harris (California) -- She's voting no, she told CNN's Jake Tapper on Wednesday.
*Independent Sen. Angus King of Maine, who caucuses with the Democrats -- "I have concluded that I do not believe she is the right person to lead this important agency, and will vote no on her nomination," he said in a statement Wednesday.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (New York)
Sen. Tim Kaine (Virginia) - "I believe the CIA needs leadership that not only honors the rule of law but meets a higher calling to the moral principles of our nation," Kaine said in a statement Friday, May 11. "Zeal in the mission cannot allow us to compromise our values. For this reason, I will vote no on Gina Haspel's nomination."
REPUBLICANS VOTING YES OR LIKELY VOTING YES
*Sen. Tom Cotton (Arkansas) -- "Yes, as should every other senator," he said during Wednesday's hearing
*Sen. Roy Blunt (Missouri)
*Sen. Jim Risch (Idaho)
*Sen. Marco Rubio (Florida)
*Sen. John Cornyn (Texas)
*Sen. Susan Collins (Maine) -- "I hope Ms. Haspel will be confirmed quickly, and I look forward to working with her in this new capacity to counter the wide range of national security challenges facing our country," she said in a statement.
*Sen. James Lankford (Oklahoma)
Sen. John Thune (South Dakota)
Sen. Rob Portman (Ohio)
Sen. Todd Young (Indiana)
Sen. Jerry Moran (Kansas)
Sen. Johnny Isakson (Georgia)
Sen. Bill Cassidy (Louisiana)
Sen. Roger Wicker (Mississippi)
Sen. Mike Crapo (Idaho)
Sen. Dan Sullivan (Alaska)
Sen. Mitch McConnell (Kentucky)
Sen. Lindsey Graham (South Carolina) -- "Gina Haspel should be confirmed as soon as possible as we live in a time of continuing threats," he said in a statement.
Sen. Thom Tillis (North Carolina) -- "I'm a definite yes," he told CNN on May 10.
Sen. Jim Inhofe (Oklahoma)
Sen. Ron Johnson (Wisconsin)
Sen. Deb Fischer (Nebraska)
Sen. Chuck Grassley (Iowa)
REPUBLICANS VOTING NO OR LIKELY VOTING NO
Sen. Rand Paul (Kentucky)
LIKELY NOT VOTING
GOP Sen. John McCain (Arizona), but he advised the Senate in a statement to reject Haspel's nomination.
REPUBLICANS UNDECIDED
Sen. Jeff Flake (Arizona)
Sen. Cory Gardner (Colorado)
Sen. David Perdue (Georgia)
Sen. Joni Ernst (Iowa)
Sen. Pat Roberts (Kansas)
Sen. Steve Daines (Montana)
Sen. Pat Toomey (Pennsylvania)
Sen. Lamar Alexander (Tennessee)
Sen. Bob Corker (Tennessee)
Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas)
Sen. Mike Lee (Utah)
Sen. Orrin Hatch (Utah)
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (West Virginia)
Sen. Richard Shelby (Alabama)
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska)
Sen. John Barrasso (Wyoming)
Sen. Mike Enzi (Wyoming)
Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (Mississippi)
Sen. John Boozman (Arkansas)
Sen. John Hoeven (North Dakota)
Sen. Dean Heller (Nevada)
Sen. Tim Scott (South Carolina)
Sen. Mike Rounds (South Dakota)
* Sen. Richard Burr (North Carolina)
Sen. Ben Sasse (Nebraska)
Sen. John Kennedy (Louisiana)
This story will be updated.