President-elect has nominated William Burns as the Director of CIA
President-elect Joe Biden has nominated a career diplomat, Ambassador William Burns, as the Director of CIA. The transition team of Biden announced the nomination on Monday. 33-years old Burns is a veteran of the US Foreign Service. He was currently serving as president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He holds the highest rank in the Foreign Service, the rank of career ambassador. Burns has also worked across 5 Republican and Democratic presidential administrations. He also served as deputy secretary of state during the Obama administration. He also served as the undersecretary for political affairs at the US State Department. He was also the US ambassador to Russia from 2005 to 2008 and the US ambassador to Jordan from 1998 to 2001.
Point to be noted that Burns served for decades in the Foreign Service and retired in 2014. He has been awarded 3 Presidential Distinguished Service Awards, as well as the top civilian honors from both the US Defense Department and the US intelligence community. President-elect is working hard to bring a more efficient workforce for his administration. He issued a statement and said, “Bill Burns is an exemplary diplomat with decades of experience on the world stage keeping our people and our country safe and secure. He shares my profound belief that intelligence must be apolitical and that the dedicated intelligence professionals serving our nation deserve our gratitude and respect”.
Biden added, “Ambassador Burns will bring the knowledge, judgment, and perspective we need to prevent and confront threats before they can reach our shores”. It is noteworthy that Biden is preparing to take the presidency in 9 days. He has announced nominees to the top positions in his new administration and new cabinet members. However, a transition official of Biden informed a news outlet that the CIA director is a Cabinet position under President Trump and it will not be a Cabinet-level post for the president-elect. So, the director of national intelligence will serve as a member of Biden’s Cabinet.