GOP sees easier ride for CIA head nominee

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WASHINGTON, March 1 (UPI) -- Senate Republicans say the confirmation of the White House's nominee to head the CIA will go much more smoothly than that of Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.

The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence is set to vote on John Brennan, the White House pick to head the CIA, next week, The Hill reported.

"I am sure there is going to be some opposition, but I do not think it is going to be as intense as it was with Secretary Hagel," Senate intelligence committee member Susan Collins, R-Maine, told The Hill Thursday.

Hagel's nomination and confirmation process was bitter, with Senate Republicans holding highly contentious hearings and a filibuster. The Senate ultimately confirmed Hagel Tuesday, 58-41.

"There was a lot of opposition due to qualifications" over the Hagel bid, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said. "I do not think you are going to have [the same] opposition over qualifications for Brennan."

"I think everyone feels Brennan is qualified, they may not like him, but he is qualified," Grassley added.

However, there has been some frustration over the White House's delays on disclosing documents related to the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. Embassy in Benghazi, Libya.

That frustration prompted intelligence committee chief Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., to postpone the committee's vote on Brennan's nomination to next week, a Senate aide told The Hill.