Gina Haspel poised to become first woman boss of CIA
President Donald Trump tweeted Tuesday that he was nominating the CIA’s deputy director, Gina Haspel, to take over for Pompeo at the intelligence agency. If confirmed, Haspel would be the CIA’s first female director. (AP Photo)
WASHINGTON: Gina Haspel, US President Donald Trump’s nominee to become the first woman to lead the CIA, is a veteran, who once reportedly ran a secret prison in Thailand where terrorism suspects were allegedly subjected to harsh interrogation techniques like waterboarding. In a surprise move, Trump on Tuesday announced that he was removing Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and replacing him with CIA Director Mike Pompeo and elevating Haspel, who was his deputy. The Senate must vote on 61-year-old Haspel’s confirmation to succeed Pompeo.
Haspel, who joined the CIA in 1985, earned high-level awards during her career and was sworn in as deputy director of the CIA on February 7, 2017, among the first officials in the Trump administration. In that post, she assisted managing intelligence collection, analysis, covert action and counterintelligence, and liaison relationships with foreign services, according to the Central Intelligence Agency’s website.
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