The Senate has confirmed Gina Haspel as director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Haspel is a 33-year CIA veteran who was responsible for running a secret CIA black site in Thailand in 2002, where at least one prisoner was waterboarded and tortured in other ways during her tenure. Haspel also oversaw the destruction of videotapes showing torture at the black site. Haspel’s confirmation came after six Democrats joined most Senate Republicans to approve her.

Sen. Bill Cassidy: “The ayes are 54, the nays are 45. And the nomination is confirmed.”

The Democrats voting yes were Senators Joe Donnelly, Heidi Heitkamp, Joe Manchin, Bill Nelson, Jeanne Shaheen and Mark Warner. Republican Senators Jeff Flake and Rand Paul voted no, while John McCain was unable to cast a vote as he battles stage IV brain cancer from his home in Arizona. McCain is a former prisoner of war who was tortured in Vietnam, and said of Haspel, “Her role in overseeing the use of torture is disturbing, and her refusal to acknowledge torture’s immorality is disqualifying.” Oregon Senator Ron Wyden, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee who’s privy to classified briefings, said of Haspel, “There is much more that the full Senate and the public should know about Haspel’s background, and I am convinced that, if they did, her nomination would be rejected.”