WASHINGTON, March 5 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Tuesday greenlit President Barack Obama's nomination for John Brennan to head the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), sending the nomination to the whole chamber for a vote.

The panel voted 12 to 3 to recommend the nomination. Brennan has been serving as counterterrorism advisor for Obama at the White House, and ran the secret program using drones to hunt down terror suspects in countries like Pakistan, Yemen and Afghanistan.

Brennan's handling of the drone program has been a major thorn during his nomination process, and senators have been asking the White House to shed more light into the secretive program.

Dianne Feinstein, the panel's chairwomen, said earlier Tuesday the White House has agreed to provide all legal opinions justifying the use of armed drone strikes.