WASHINGTON — The Senate Intelligence Committee voted 12-3 to confirm John Brennan as the next CIA director, setting the stage for the full Senate to vote on his nomination later this week.

The committee approved Brennan’s nomination in a closed-door hearing after the White House belatedly agreed to give the House and Senate intelligence committees access to classified Justice Department opinions that the Obama administration used to justify the targeted killing of American terror suspects overseas.

Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said some members had requested additional information from the administration on counterterrorism efforts and the lethal attack by armed militants on a U.S. compound and CIA base in Benghazi, Libya, last Sept. 11.

But Feinstein said the full Senate could vote on Brennan’s nomination in “a short time.”

The position has been vacant for five months.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he wants the full Senate to consider the nomination by week’s end.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., vowed to delay the vote until the White House assures him it does not have authority to conduct a targeted killing of an American within the United States. But Paul acknowledged he probably cannot find support for a filibuster, which requires 41 votes.

The battle is hardly over, however. Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and John McCain, R-Ariz., said they still want additional questions answered about the Benghazi raid.

 

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