The Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday voted in favor of advancing the nomination of White House Counterterrorism Advisor John Brennan, President Obama’s pick to lead the CIA, to the full Senate for consideration. The tally was 12 to three, with Ranking Member Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) voting against Brennan, as did Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho), reported the Los Angeles Times. “The CIA needs a confirmed director,” and Senate Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) “is committed to moving quickly to schedule a vote,” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), committee chair, in a statement following the vote. President Obama nominated Brennan, 57, for the post in January. The committee’s vote came one day after the White House provided lawmakers with legal opinions on the targeted killings of Americans and with additional details on the US consulate attack in Benghazi, Libya, last September, according to Feinstein’s statement. (See also our coverage from Brennan’s Feb. 7 confirmation hearing: Brennan Vows Dialog on CIA Strikes and Brennan Wants to Counter Falsehoods on CIA Strikes.)
A provision in the fiscal 2025 defense policy bill will require the Defense Department to include the military occupational specialty of service members who die by suicide in its annual report on suicide deaths, though it remains to be seen how much data the department will actually disclose.