Biden to nominate veteran diplomat William Burns as CIA director

(Image credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

published 11 January 2021

President-elect Joe Biden has revealed his pick for CIA director.

Biden will nominate veteran diplomat William Burns to serve as the next director of the Central Intelligence Agency, CNN reports.

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Burns "served in the U.S. Foreign Service for 33 years" and held a "number of national security positions across five Democratic and Republican presidential administrations," the transition said in a statement. Under former President Barack Obama, he served as deputy secretary of state, and he was previously ambassador to Jordan and Russia, as well. He was involved in talks that led to the Iran nuclear deal while in the Obama administration and "has experience dealing with Russian President Vladimir Putin," Axios reports.

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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.

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