Trump's new pick for CIA director would be the first woman to lead the spy agency


America's 70-year-old spy agency is on the cusp of a historic first.
President Trump is nominating CIA Deputy Director Gina Haspel to replace Mike Pompeo as director of the CIA, with Trump tapping Pompeo to take fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's post.
If confirmed, Haspel would be the CIA's first-ever female director, a fact that Trump touted in both his announcement tweet and an official joint statement from Trump, Pompeo, and Haspel.
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"I am grateful to President Trump for the opportunity, and humbled by his confidence in me, to be nominated to be the next director of the Central Intelligence Agency," said Haspel in the statement. "If confirmed, I look forward to providing President Trump the outstanding intelligence support he has grown to expect during his first year in office."
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Summer Meza has worked at The Week since 2018, serving as a staff writer, a news writer and currently the deputy editor. As a proud news generalist, she edits everything from political punditry and science news to personal finance advice and film reviews. Summer has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covering national politics, transportation and the cannabis industry.
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