In this photo, taken May 9, 2018, Gina Haspel arrives to her confirmation hearing at the Senate Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington. Haspel’s 33-year spy career began as the Cold War was thawing, but she was in the shadows countering Russian intelligence agencies that never stopped trying to penetrate the US government. It’s experience she can tap as she leads the agency amid rising tensions with Moscow. (Photo by ALEX BRANDON / AP)
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is attending the swearing-in of the first female director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
The ceremony for Gina Haspel is taking place Monday morning at agency headquarters in Langley, Virginia.
Haspel won Senate confirmation last week after overcoming concerns about her role in the agency’s use of harsh interrogation techniques after 9/11.
The 33-year CIA employee was backed by many in the CIA rank and file and senior intelligence officials, including former CIA directors and national intelligence directors. Opponents argued it was wrong to reward someone who supervised a covert detention site in Thailand where terror suspects were harshly interrogated.
Trump tapped the 61-year-old Kentucky native to lead the nation’s premier intelligence agency after he nominated then-CIA Director Mike Pompeo to succeed Rex Tillerson as secretary of state.