GOP senator: US intelligence ‘unparalleled’

Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) says America’s national intelligence agencies are better than any competitors overseas.

“[It is] an intelligence community that is unparalleled in the world,” he told the Lincoln Journal Star Thursday.

“We should be affirming them [and] explaining why their mission is critical,” added Sasse, a newly empaneled member of the Senate Armed Services and Judiciary committees.

{mosads}Sasse’s remarks come one day after reports that President-elect Donald Trump is crafting plans to restructure at least two of the nation’s top intelligence agencies.

Trump has also repeatedly cast doubt on intelligence assessments that Russian hacking last year was aimed at influencing the outcome of the U.S. presidential election.

Sasse criticized “the way the public debate is becoming narrowly partisan” as lawmakers analyze Russia’s suspected meddling.

The Nebraska senator added that Russian President Vladimir Putin has long tried increasing his nation’s power and influence over U.S. interests worldwide.

“There is no question that Putin is a bad guy,” said Sasse, who refrained from voting for Trump on Election Day.

Sasse added he would focus on cyber warfare in his new role on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

“We are dealing with a new world that is mobile and encrypted, and we need to function more like Silicon Valley,” he said. “I’m very concerned that we’re not spending nearly enough time or energy [on cyber warfare].”

Trump is reportedly considering shrinking the CIA and the Office of Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) as he publicly disputes intelligence reports that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential race to aid his candidacy.

The president-elect has fiercely denied that Russian hacking of Democratic organizations before Election Day aided his White House bid.

Trump purportedly wants to slim down the ODNI as he believes the agency established in 2004 as a response to the 9/11 attacks has become bloated and politicized.

The incoming president’s CIA plans, meanwhile, allegedly include cutting staffing at the agency’s Virginia headquarters and assigning more people to field posts.