By Maria Hickey, KWMU
St. Louis, MO. – Missouri's senior senator wants President Bush's nominee to head the CIA confirmed as soon as possible.
Senator Kit Bond says he's impressed with General Michael Hayden. And he says Hayden's military background would help him lead the civilian agency in tracking terrorists.
The Republican says he hopes to see Hayden confirmed by the end of this week.
"I would hope we could it up very shortly because this is no time to be without a director of Central Intelligence," Bond said. "You have heard from Osama bin Laden and al-Zarqawi, statements about planned attacks."
Senate hearings on the confirmation were held last Thursday.
Bond says the hearings focused too much on the president's terrorist surveillance program.
General Hayden served as director of the National Security Agency, which oversaw warrant-less domestic wiretapping and data-mining of phone records.