Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., became the first Republican on Thursday to come out against the nominations of CIA Director Mike Pompeo as secretary of state and CIA Deputy Director Gina Haspel to as director of the agency.
Hours later, the White House refused to link Republican Paul with Democratic senators it blasted for what it considered "playing political games."
Asked by Newsmax if the Trump administration felt the same way about Paul as it did about the Democratic lawmakers, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders replied she felt the point being made was "about people who have supported Director Pompeo already through the confirmation process."
[Last year, Pompeo was confirmed with by a vote in the Senate of 66-to-32 — 51 Republicans, 14 Democrats, and one independent; Paul was the lone Republican to oppose the nomination.]
"Look, we have two incredibly skilled, qualified individuals to lead these two agencies," Sanders said. "We're very proud of these nominees and fully expect them both to be confirmed."
Asked if Paul's strong language criticizing Pompeo and Haspel bothered the White House, the president's top spokesman told us: "Certainly, these are two highly qualified and highly skilled, highly recommended individuals that should be confirmed, and we fully expect that they are."
Earlier Tuesday morning, Paul made big news by blasting the two nominees as "neocons" — "neo-conservatives," who would step up U.S. intervention in other countries.
"The neocons have been so completely and regularly wrong for decades now that it's almost unimaginable to believe they would ever be in a position to advise a president again, let alone to wield the kind of power they will have if they lead some of our nation's most powerful institutions," Paul told reporters.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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