WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama plans to nominate longtime counterterrorism chief John Brennan to serve as director of the Central Intelligence Agency, placing a trusted aide at the helm of the spy organization, White House officials said Monday.
President Obama will nominate Chuck Hagel as his next defense secretary and counterterrorism adviser John Brennan to lead the CIA. Julian Barnes reports on Markets Hub. Getty Images.
The announcement is expected Monday at 1 p.m. in conjunction with Mr. Obama's pick for defense secretary, former Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel.
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Chuck Hagel is set to succeed Leon Panetta as U.S. Defense Secretary.
Earlier
· White House to Go on Offense for Hagel Pick
From the Archives
· Counterterrorism Chief on bin Laden Controversy: 'I Don't Do Politics' 4/9/2012
· Brennan to Republicans: Back Off on Military Tribunals for Terrorism Suspects 9/8/2011
· Brennan: U.S. Wary of Terrorists in Libya3/18/2011
· Brennan Is Out of Running for CIA Post11/26/2008
In choosing Mr. Brennan to succeed David Petraeus, who resigned last year after admitting to an affair, Mr. Obama is returning to a model of having a CIA director with close White House ties. Mr. Petraeus, a decorated four-star general, wasn't considered part of Mr. Obama's inner circle.
The move also brings full circle the plan Mr. Obama had at the outset of his first term to install Mr. Brennan, a former longtime CIA officer who had become a close campaign adviser, at the helm of the CIA. Those plans were derailed when Mr. Brennan came under scrutiny by liberal bloggers and activists who criticized him for having played a role in President George W. Bush's enhanced-interrogation program.
Mr. Brennan said he played no role in tactics such as waterboarding and has said he opposes them.
The White House has been weighing its pick for CIA director for three months, and the final decision was a choice between Mr. Brennan and Michael Morell, the acting CIA director, who has been at the agency for more than 30 years.
Second-Term Cabinet Shake-Up
A key reason Mr. Obama chose Mr. Brennan, White House officials said, is the president's close relationship with him. Mr. Brennan has served at Mr. Obama's side for four years as counterterrorism chief through many difficult decisions, including the raid that killed Osama bin Laden.
At the White House, Mr. Brennan has played a central role in Mr. Obama's most critical and controversial counterterrorism and security policies. He has been a chief driver of Mr. Obama's acceleration of the CIA's drone program and its expansion into Yemen. He also has been central in navigating the politics surrounding the administration's inability to close the U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
White House officials emphasized Mr. Brennan's extensive counterterrorism and intelligence experience and relationship with the president, with whom he meets daily.
Mr. Brennan, a onetime CIA station chief in Saudi Arabia, also has served as an emissary to Yemeni officials to manage counterterrorism operations there and in Somalia. He has helped steer white House security policy in response to the Arab Spring.
In the confirmation process, Mr. Brennan may face criticism this time less from liberals but instead from some Republicans who oppose Mr. Obama's efforts to close the Guantanamo prison and who are uncomfortable with what they see as Mr. Brennan's outsize role in intelligence and counterterrorism programs from the White House perch. He is expected, however, to win confirmation.
Mr. Hagel has encountered opposition from Republican lawmakers, and administration officials have acknowledged that they expect a tough confirmation fight. They also say they are confident they will prevail because Republicans ultimately won't be able to topple a former colleague, a Vietnam veteran and a two-term GOP senator from Nebraska who served on the foreign-relations and intelligence committees.
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Associated Press
John Brennan briefs reporters at the White House, in this Oct. 29, 2010, file photo.
Republican lawmakers on Sunday stepped up their opposition to Mr. Hagel, who initially voted for the Iraq war but grew to oppose it and who supported Mr. Obama for president in 2008. Critics also have cited Mr. Hagel's past criticisms of Israel as a basis for their opposition.
Sen. Lindsay Graham (R., S.C.) said Sunday on CNN that it would "probably be a bridge too far" for him to support Mr. Hagel. Mr. Hagel's foreign-policy views, he said, are "outside the mainstream," and he would be "the most antagonistic secretary of defense towards the state of Israel in our nation's history."
Other Republicans, such as Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas), cited what they see as leniency on Iran and a past reluctance to impose sanctions on Tehran as reasons for their opposition. "He has consistently advocated weakness with respect to our enemies, with respect to the nation of Iran," Mr. Cruz said on Fox. "Weakness in a secretary of defense invites conflict, because bullies don't respect weakness."
Mr. Hagel's backers say he will respond to charges he isn't sufficiently supportive of Israel by pointing to votes he made in the Senate for a total of $38 billion in aid for the Jewish state, along with multiple trips to meet with leaders there. Mr. Hagel, said a person close to the decision-making process, believes in America's "special relationship" with Israel but also believes that relationship enables officials from both governments to "speak frankly" with each other.
Regarding Iran, Mr. Hagel voted at least three times for sanctions and is a supporter of multilateral sanctions, the person said, adding that Mr. Hagel has opposed some sanctions based on specific details, not a broader opposition. Mr. Hagel believes military action should always be an option but, based on his war experience, thinks it should only be seriously considered after diplomatic options are exhausted, this person said.
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