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 / Updated By Emma Margolin 
 
 Republican Rep. Mike Pompeo on Thursday sought to quell concerns his judgment as CIA director would be colored by partisan motivations, staking out positions at odds with the President-elect. 
 
 Appearing before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Pompeo said he would not endorse the use of waterboarding during interrogation, and he agreed with the intelligence community's assessment that Russia had attempted to interfere in the U.S. election. 
 
 "Absolutely not," Pompeo responded when asked if he would follow an order to restart the CIA’s use of enhanced interrogation techniques that fall outside the Army Field Manual. 
 
 "Moreover, I can’t imagine that I would be asked that by the president-elect or then president," he said, adding that any changes to the manual would have to come through Congress. 
 
 President-elect Donald Trump during the campaign said he would bring back waterboarding. 
 
 Asked about the skepticism by Trump's opponents as to the legitimacy of the election and political division, Pompeo told the committee: "I have no doubt that the discourse that's been taking place is something that [Russian President] Vladimir Putin would look at and say, 'Wow, that was among the objectives that I had.” 
 
 Earlier in the hearing, Pompeo said he believed a recent report from the intelligence community concluding that Russia tried to help Republican President-elect Donald Trump by "discrediting" his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, was "sound." 
 
 If confirmed as CIA director, he added, "I will continue to pursue foreign intelligence with vigor no matter where the facts lead." 
 
 A Rocky Start 
 
 As Sen. Mark Warner, the committee's ranking Democrat, was making his opening remarks, the power went out, prompting everyone to relocate to a different room. Republican Sen. Richard Burr, the committee’s chairman, assured NBC News’ Kelly O’Donnell the outage was the result of a central power failure affecting parts of the Senate office building, and not some nefarious cause. 
 
 Fellow Kansas Republicans, former Sen. Bob Dole and current Sen. Pat Roberts, introduced Pompeo to the committee. 
 
 Zeroing in on Russia 
 
 In his opening remarks, Pompeo took aim at Russia, saying that Moscow has “reasserted itself aggressively, invading and occupying Ukraine, threatening Europe and doing nothing to aid in the defeat of ISIS.” 
 
 He later said, “It’s pretty clear about what took place here about Russia involvement in efforts to hack information and to have an impact on American democracy.” 
 
 The remarks put him at odds with the president-elect, who has repeatedly challenged the intelligence community’s assessment that Russia was behind a hack on the Democratic National Committee. 
 
 Trump at a Wednesday press conference said "As far as hacking, I think it's Russia," but quickly pivoted to mentioning other nations that engage in cyberattacks. Russia has denied being involved. 
 
 Torture Techniques 
 
 Pressed on his views about “enhanced interrogation techniques” — which Pompeo has defended as legal and patriotic, not as torture — the four-term Republican said Thursday that current law limits interrogation to techniques outlined in the Army Field Manual, which does not include methods like waterboarding. 
 
 In order to bring back enhanced interrogation techniques, Pompeo said, Congress would have to the change the law. 
 
 Furthermore, Pompeo added that he would “absolutely not” follow an order from the president to restart any techniques that fall outside of the Army Field Manual. Trump campaigned in part on a promise to bring back waterboarding. 
 
 "I can’t imagine that I would be asked that,” Pompeo said, without acknowledging Trump’s campaign commitment. "I am deeply aware that any changes to that will have to come through Congress… I’ll always comply with the law." 
 
 Iran Deal 
 
 A foreign policy hawk elected in the Tea Party wave of 2010, Pompeo is known as a vociferous critic of the Iran nuclear deal and champion of aggressive surveillance programs. He was tapped by Trump to lead the CIA ten days after the election. 
 
 Pompeo said Thursday that though he opposed the Iran nuclear agreement as a member a Congress, “If confirmed [as CIA director], my role will change." 
 
 He vowed to continue to evaluate Iranian compliance with the agreement, which put limits on Iran’s nuclear programs in exchange for lighter sanctions. Yet he cautioned: "The Iranians are professionals at cheating." ||||| The man picked by Donald Trump to be the next CIA director vowed today that torture would “absolutely not” be renewed under his leadership, even as he warned that terrorism — especially within the U.S. homeland — remains the “most immediate threat” to “life and limb of Americans.” 
 
 “I think [terrorism] presents the most immediate threat to personal risk to a person living in south-central Kansas,” Rep. Mike Pompeo, a Republican from Kansas, said during his Senate confirmation hearing. 
 
 When the panel’s top Democrat, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, asked whether he would comply with a presidential order to “restart the CIA’s use of enhanced interrogation techniques that fall outside of the Army Field Manual,” Pompeo was unequivocal: “Senator, absolutely not.” 
 
 “I voted for the change that put the Army Field Manual in place as a member of Congress,” Pompeo added. “I understand that law very, very [much] and … there is no doubt in my mind about the limitations placed not only on the DOD but on the intelligence agency, and I’ll always comply with the law.” 
 
 The number of terrorist groups around the world is growing, and ISIS “has metastasized,” according to Pompeo. 
 
 “The list is long” of terrorists who desperately want to do the United States harm, he said. “I put North Korea, China and Russia right up there alongside them ... The nuclear powers are the ones that have the biggest threat to do catastrophic harm in the United States." 
 
 He said he is concerned over whether the International Atomic Energy Agency has sufficient access in Iran to detect any noncompliance with the Iran nuclear deal. 
 
 “The Iranians are professionals at cheating, and so while I think we have a very sound inspection regime, I have to tell you I worry about the fact … that we do not know [what] we do not know,” Pompeo said. “You have my commitment that I will continue to improve and enhance capacity to understand that and do everything I can to diminish the risk that in fact we are missing something.” ||||| Story highlights Donald Trump's pick for CIA director says he would not restart the CIA's use of enhanced interrogation techniques 
 
 This decry of torture is a pivot from Pompeo, who previously supported the use of torture publicly in Congress 
 
 Washington (CNN) Donald Trump's pick for CIA director said Thursday he would not restart the CIA's use of enhanced interrogation techniques if he were approved for the position. 
 
 Rep. Mike Pompeo, Trump's nominee for CIA director, was asked by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, if he would -- if ordered by President-elect Trump -- restart the CIA's use of enhanced interrogation tactics the that fall outside of army field manual. 
 
 "Absolutely not," Pompeo responded. "Moreover, I can't imagine I would be asked that by the President-elect." 
 
 Later in the hearing, Pompeo was asked by Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico if he would commit to complying with the law and acknowledge that the CIA is out of the enhanced interrogation business. 
 
 "Yes, you have my full commitment," Pompeo said. 
 
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– Donald Trump's nominee for CIA director broke with the president-elect on Russia and torture during a confirmation hearing Thursday. CNN reports Rep. Mike Pompeo said "absolutely not" when asked if he would bring back the use of enhanced interrogation techniques if ordered by the president. It was a surprising answer considering Pompeo was supportive of techniques like waterboarding while in Congress, calling them constitutional and CIA agents who used them "patriots." Now Pompeo says he'll "comply with the law" passed by Congress banning such techniques, according to ABC News. Though NBC News notes Pompeo added that Congress could always change the law. Despite Trump advocating for the use of torture during the campaign, Pompeo was the fourth of his nominees to come out against it during hearings. When asked about Russia, Pompeo said "it's pretty clear" the country tried to affect democracy in the US by meddling in the election. He said he believes intelligence reports that state Russia tried to help Trump get elected by "discrediting" Hillary Clinton. He also chastised Russia for invading the Ukraine and not helping fight ISIS. He included the country on a list of the greatest threats to the US, along with terrorism, China, Iran, and North Korea.