Senate confirms William Burns to be next CIA director after Cruz lifts hold

The Senate on Thursday confirmed William Burns to be President Joe Biden’s CIA director, approving his nomination with no objections after Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz lifted his hold.

The Senate cleared Burns’ nomination by voice vote on the floor Thursday.

Biden tapped Burns as CIA director in January, turning to a longtime diplomat who was deputy secretary of state in the Obama administration and held foreign service posts for more than three decades. He will become the first leader in the CIA’s history whose lifelong experience comes from the State Department. Continue reading.

Biden announces veteran diplomat William Burns as nominee for CIA director

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President-elect Joe Biden early Monday announced former Deputy Secretary of State William Burns as his nominee for director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Burns is a former career diplomat with more than three decades of experience in the Foreign Service. He retired in 2014 and currently serves as president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He has served in various national security roles across both Democratic and Republican administrations.

Burns was U.S. ambassador to Russia between 2005 and 2008 and was U.S. ambassador to Jordan from 1998 to 2001. Continue reading.