With CIA Post Filled, Trump's National Security Team Complete
*By Conor White*
At a critical time in his presidency, Donald Trump has found an adviser he can trust who will help him navigate the most vexing questions of war and peace.
Gina Haspel's confirmation as director of the Central Intelligence Agency, despite concerns about her role in the interrogations of terrorism suspects at secret CIA "black sites," puts her at Trump's side as he confronts no fewer than three major diplomatic and national security conflagrations.
"He wants someone he can rely on to give intelligence advice during this really critical time," said Daniel Lippman, a reporter at Politico. "You have North Korea, that summit coming up, the Iranian nuclear deal on tenter hooks, you have the Middle East going up in flames with Gaza, and so to have someone there that Trump doesn't fight like he did with Rex Tillerson at the State Department, that is reassuring to Americans."
It should at least be reassuring to the CIA.
"This is the best the CIA could've asked for," said Lippman. "She was the deputy under Pompeo, she's not a John Bolton-type person, she's pretty reasonable, that's why she got a number of Democratic votes."
Haspel, the first-ever female director of the agency, will be part of a national security team that also includes Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who used to lead the CIA, and Trump's National Security Adviser, John Bolton.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/the-senate-confirms-haspel-and-giulianis-latest-tv-appearances).
President Joe Biden ordered the United States military to carry out retaliatory airstrikes against Iranian-backed militia groups after three U.S. service members were injured in a drone attack in northern Iraq.
Donald Trump's lawyers are telling a federal appeals court that he was acting within his role as president when he pressed claims about “alleged fraud and irregularity” in the 2020 election.
The Supreme Court says it will not immediately take up a plea by special counsel Jack Smith to rule on whether former President Donald Trump can be prosecuted for his actions to overturn the 2020 election results.
A Congressional oversight committee has opened an investigation into the safety of an Osprey aircraft, weeks after a deadly crash off the coast of Japan that killed eight airmen.
Florida Gov. and presidential hopeful Ron Desantis says that he thinks the Republican primary would be different if former president Donald Trump wasn't indicted.
A judge ordered former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani immediately to start paying the judgment against him for the former Georgia election workers that he defamed.
