Senator John McCain (R-AZ) “is holding up a full Senate confirmation vote on President Barack Obama’s nominee to lead the US intelligence community, James Clapper, his spokeswoman confirmed Monday,” the AFP reports.
McCain’s use of a senatorial prerogative called a “hold,” which allows individual lawmakers to delay action on a nominee, could push back Clapper’s confirmation until after the month-long August congressional recess.
The senator requested a report from Clapper and “until that report is provided Senator McCain will continue to hold his nomination,” said McCain spokeswoman Brooke Buchanan, who declined to describe the nature of the report.
Mr. Clapper is nominated to be the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), which “oversees the 16 agencies that make up the US intelligence community, including the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency.”
Clapper has served as undersecretary of defense for intelligence — the top intelligence post at the Pentagon — as well as the director of defense intelligence, which reports directly to the DNI.
Update (8/3): McCain has now released the hold.
(credit image – daylife/getty)
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Clapper’s confirmation until after the month-long August congressional recess.