Brennan at CIA fills 3rd key national security job

WASHINGTON (AP) — John Brennan's swearing in today after a contentious Senate debate on the use of armed drones against terrorism suspects, puts in place a third key member of President Barack Obama's second-term national security team.

Brennan won Senate confirmation on Thursday after the administration bowed to demands from Republicans blocking the nomination and stated explicitly there are limits on the president's power to use drones against U.S. terror suspects on American soil. The White House said Vice President Joe Biden would swear him in during a private ceremony in the Roosevelt Room.

Last week Chuck Hagel won Senate confirmation to be defense secretary, joining Secretary of State John Kerry in Obama's revamped national security lineup.

The Brennan vote was 63-34 and came just hours after Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, a possible 2016 presidential candidate, used an old-style filibuster of the nomination to extract an answer from the administration on the drone question.