President-elect Joseph R. Biden on Monday announced William Burns as his pick for CIA director, turning to a career diplomat for his choice to lead the intelligence agency.
Mr. Burns, president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a think tank, is a former deputy secretary of state and U.S. ambassador to Russia and Jordan. He retired from the U.S Foreign Service in 2014 after more than three decades in the field.
“Ambassador Burns will bring the knowledge, judgment, and perspective we need to prevent and confront threats before they can reach our shores,” Mr. Biden said in a statement. “The American people will sleep soundly with him as our next CIA Director.”
Mr. Biden’s team has indicated that the CIA director will not be a Cabinet-level position after President Trump had made the change to make it one.
The Director of National Intelligence will be in Mr. Biden’s Cabinet; he had already announced Avril Haines as his choice for that position.
Other names mentioned as possible picks for CIA director included David Cohen, a former deputy director of the CIA, and Michael Morell, a former acting director and deputy director of the agency.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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