Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) said on "Face the Nation" that changes were necessary at the agency, especially since the CIA failed the country by supplying inaccurate intelligence prior to the war in Iraq.
"I can tell you right now, when you tell the president of the United States that weapons of mass destruction is a slam-dunk in Iraq and [then] you tell the whole world you're wrong, somebody needs to deal with the dynamic that led to us being so wrong. And if you have to hurt some feelings, so be it," he said.
Graham also castigated Congress for failing to agree on legislation to overhaul the intelligence community, as recommended in the report by the commission that investigated the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Harman, a member of the conference committee trying to negotiate a compromise between Senate and House versions of the intelligence bill, said the White House was working through the weekend to "try to force through a consensus that 75% of us agree on."
The holdouts, she said, are a few Republican House members influenced by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld. The Pentagon currently controls about 80% of the nation's intelligence budget, and the restructuring plan proposed by the Sept. 11 commission and approved by the Senate would shift much of that authority to a new national intelligence director.
"The president is our commander in chief," she said. "It is time, past time, for him to tell the secretary of Defense to stand down on this issue so that the will of Congress and the 9/11 commission can be implemented."
