This morning we learned that President Trump finally pulled the trigger on his decision to fire Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State, and replace him with current CIA Director Mike Pompeo.
That left an opening at the head of America’s top intelligence agency. President Trump has indicated that Gina Haspel, the current Deputy Director of the CIA, will get the nomination to lead the agency.
Who is Gina Haspel? Here are five fast facts you need to know about her.
- Haspel, if confirmed by a majority vote in the Senate, would be the very first female head of the CIA. This is a great achievement, and one that liberals will give no credit to Trump for.
- Haspel has been a career CIA employee and once ran an agency prison in Thailand, where waterboarding was used an an extreme interrogation measure. President Trump has supported waterboarding in the past.
- Being appointed director of the CIA would be a huge promotion for Haspel, but she has held multiple leadership roles within the U.S. intelligence community in the past. Her past roles include being “deputy director of the National Clandestine Service and deputy director of the National Clandestine Service for Foreign Intelligence and Covert Action.”
- Haspel was investigated for her role in heading a prison where waterboarding took place, and obeyed an order to destroy video evidence of the interrogation. The Justice Department ultimately filed no charges in the case.
- Haspel has received numerous rewards and accolades for her work, including the George H. W. Bush Award for excellence in counterterrorism and the Presidential Rank Award, which is the highest award in the federal civil service.
President Trump congratulated Haspel and Pompeo on their promotions this morning:
Mike Pompeo, Director of the CIA, will become our new Secretary of State. He will do a fantastic job! Thank you to Rex Tillerson for his service! Gina Haspel will become the new Director of the CIA, and the first woman so chosen. Congratulations to all!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 13, 2018
What do you think of Trump’s choice to lead the CIA? Tell us your thoughts below!
