Obama's CIA Pick Unlikely To Face Senate Challenge

[Purveyor]

(01-06) 15:40 PST WASHINGTON (AP) --

President-elect Barack Obama had to do a little fence-mending Tuesday with the new Congress controlled by his own party — apologizing to a key Senate Democrat for failing to consult on his decision to name veteran Washington hand Leon Panetta CIA director.

Vice President-elect Joe Biden also branded it a mistake for Obama not to discuss the decision in advance with the incoming Senate Intelligence Committee chair, Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

But despite rumblings of criticism about Panetta's lack of intelligence experience, his confirmation is not expected to draw strong opposition.

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Senate Democrats were reluctant Tuesday to openly challenge their former colleague's handling of the Panetta nomination. At the same time, members of the Intelligence Committee clearly wanted to put the incoming administration on notice that they want to be kept in the loop.

"He is the president. He is entitled to make these decisions," said Sen. Evan Bayh, of Obama. But having said that, Bayh later joked, "Call me next time."

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AP: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/01/06/national/w133956S08.DTL