Senate leaders are rushing to see if they can confirm Avril Haines to be President Joe Biden’s intelligence chief on Inauguration Day, though hurdles remain.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) is resisting speedy consideration of her nomination until he hears back from Haines on a question he asked her after her hearing, according to a source familiar with the matter. The question centers on efforts to prosecute CIA officers who might have been involved with the government’s so-called enhanced interrogation techniques against suspected terrorists.

Haines, Biden’s nominee to serve as director of national intelligence, promised a prompt response to Cotton, though he hadn’t heard back as of mid-Wednesday afternoon, the source said.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, tweeted Wednesday morning that he would not be attending Biden’s inauguration so that he could address “remaining objections to an expedited Senate confirmation.” Without mentioning Cotton, he added, “It’s important we do this as soon as possible.”

Cotton is not aiming to hold up her nomination and has not gone public with the back-and-forth as Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) did on Tuesday with a separate nomination. Hawley said he would hold up quick confirmation of Homeland Security nominee Alejandro Mayorkas.

It’s unclear if Mayorkas can even get out of committee in the current formation, according to a Republican senator. And there are multiple GOP holds on bringing him directly to the floor, not just Hawley, the senator said.

It would be a break from tradition if the Senate can’t confirm a single one of Biden’s nominees on Inauguration Day. In 2017, former President Donald Trump saw both his Homeland Security and Defense secretaries confirmed after he was sworn in.

Related posts:

Democrats to introduce legislation to expand Supreme Court Eye-popping lawsuit portrays GOP lawmaker’s office as a Covid-19 petri dish Lawmakers announce deal on bipartisan Jan. 6 commission Senators tout bipartisan effort to combat sexual assault in military State losses plague Democrats ahead of redistricting Kinzinger: ‘Significant amount’ of subpoenas likely in Jan. 6 probe Senate sends bill to honor Jan. 6 officers to Biden’s desk Democrats race to resolve House-Senate disputes on $3.5T megabill Dems’ paid leave push faces last stand ‘Hamilton’ cast members perform virtually for Jan. 6 anniversary Pelosi invites Biden for March 1 State of the Union address GOP senator says Trump’s election allegations are unfounded