"Senator Richard Burr (R-NC), Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, today announced Acting Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Gina Haspel, was favorably reported out of the Committee by a vote of 10-5 to be Director of the Central Intelligence Agency," the release said.
Haspel's nomination will now advance to the full US Senate for a vote. Four Democrats have already stated publicly that they plan to vote for Haspel, so she is expected to be approved as CIA Director when the Senate votes on her nomination.
Last week, US Senator John McCain refused to vote to confirm Gina Haspel's nomination, saying that she was unfit to run the CIA, citing her "disturbing role in overseeing the use of torture by Americans.
READ MORE: WATCH Ex US Green Beret Waterboard Himself to Support Haspel's CIA Appointment
During her Senate hearing on May 9, Haspel promised that the so-called detention and interrogation program would not resume under her leadership.
Haspel, who currently serves as acting CIA director, oversaw the interrogation of a detainee at a secret US prison in Thailand who was waterboarded 83 times in a single month. She also reportedly participated in the destruction of videos of interrogations that have since been characterized as torture and outlawed by Congress.
