Washington 24 Jan (ANA) - The Senate has confirmed controversial candidate Mike Pompeo to head the CIA in President Donald Trump's new administration. The vote Monday was 66-32. His appointment was confirmed despite opposition from some Democrats, who highlighted the Kansas Republican's varying viewpoints on key issues such as surveillance, torture and Russia’s "influence campaign" in the 2016 Presidential election. During his senate confirmation hearing, Mr Pompeo refused to accept findings by Nasa on climate change and said he would not let his personal views against gay marriage interfere with his new role. Mr Pompeo will lead the major agency as the intelligence community has been thrust into the spotlight and become an increasingly partisan issue. US intelligence agencies, including the CIA, are currently reportedly investigating the frequent contact between new national security adviser, retired general Michael Flynn, and the Russian ambassador to the US, around the time that former President Barack Obama imposed sanctions on Russia for interfering with the election. Mr Trump largely dismissed their findings that Vladimir Putin authorised his operatives to meddle with the US election and insisted that any hacking did not help his path to the White House.(ANA)

FA/ANA/24 January 2017-----