Senate confirms Mike Pompeo as CIA chief despite concerns over his views on torture

Republican Rep. Mike Pompeo of Kansas has been confirmed by the Senate as CIA director, despite concerns from some over his conflicting statements whether he would expand surveillance on Americans and bring back interrogation techniques that were banned under the administration of Barack Obama.

Senators voted 66-32 to confirm Pompeo, who will be vacating his congressional seat, to serve as the head of the agency, USA Today reported.

Senate Republicans had hoped to approve Pompeo's nomination on Monday, but Democrats stalled the move until they could debate.

Democratic Oregon senator Ron Wyden said that Pompeo was the "wrong man for the job," and added that his answers to some of the questions had been "vague" and "contradictory."

He also claimed that Pompeo had held extreme positions including enthusiasm for new surveillance programs directed at Americans, as well as bringing back controversial torture interrogation techniques.

In 2009, Obama issued an executive order banning waterboarding and other extreme interrogation techniques.

Pompeo stated earlier in his confirmation hearing that he would "absolutely not" bring back those techniques. But in response to questions to members of the Senate Intelligence Committee, he said that he is willing to review the waterboarding ban if it was shown that it impedes on the collection of "vital intelligence."

Supporters of Pompeo's confirmation have said that they believe Pompeo would uphold the ban on torture and mass collection of Americans' phone records by Intelligence agencies.

Rev. Ron Stief, Executive Director of National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT), recently wrote an op-ed piece for The Christian Post, warning Christians against supporting the use of torture.

He noted that around 100,000 people have signed a petition asking Pompeo to reaffirm the CIA's position that torture will never be used against prisoners.

"Our military leaders and intelligence officials are clear that torture doesn't work as a way of generating intelligence they can trust and use. And it puts our own troops at risk," he wrote.

"Finally, Christians in particular should understand best that God never asks us to respond to evil and darkness with more of the same. Jesus' example and teachings that compelled so many Christians to speak out against torture do not come from a place of weakness, but from the greatest strength," he added.

Stief further noted that Pompeo, Jeff Sessions (Attorney General), Gen. James Mattis (Defense), Gen. John Kelly (Homeland Security), and Rex Tillerson (State Department) all affirmed their absolute opposition to torture during the confirmation hearings.