House intelligence committee chief Rep. Mike Rogers (D-Mich.) predicted that John Brennan, the White House's pick to head the CIA, will be confirmed by the Senate to lead the agency.
But the political fight to become the nation's top spy may be a bruising one, Rogers said in an interview on MSNBC on Wednesday.
"I think there is going to be lots of questions about, you know, leaks and detention and all the other things, as I talk to my friends in the Senate. It seems to be something that they're concerned about," Rogers said.
However, Rogers said the debate over the Brennan pick wouldn't be nearly as contentious as the verbal bludgeoning that former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) took at the hands of the Senate Armed Services Committee during his confirmation to become the new Pentagon chief.
"I think at the end of the day, [Brennan] ... gets confirmed for the position," the Michigan Democrat added.
But opposition to the Brennan pick has mounted in recent days, fueled by the unofficial release of a previously confidential Department of Justice white paper on Monday, justifying the use of armed drones against suspected terrorists who also may be U.S. citizens.
The paper, quietly distributed to Rogers and other select lawmakers last June, broadly outlined the criteria by which U.S. military or intelligence officials could launch drone strikes against terror suspects overseas, regardless of nationality.
During his time at the White House and CIA, Brennan played a key policy role in ushering in the aggressive use of targeted killings of suspected terrorists via armed aerial drone strikes.
For more on Rogers's comments, click here.
