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William Burns is Biden’s pick to lead CIA

Burns, 64, is a former U.S. ambassador to Russia and Jordan. He was deputy secretary of state during the Obama years, but he left the State Department in 2014 to run the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace think tank.

  • By Bill Chappell/NPR
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 23: Honoree Bill Burns speaks onstage during the National Committee On American Foreign Policy Gala Awards Dinner at Metropolitan Club on October 23, 2019 in New York City.

 Noam Galai / Getty Images

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 23: Honoree Bill Burns speaks onstage during the National Committee On American Foreign Policy Gala Awards Dinner at Metropolitan Club on October 23, 2019 in New York City.

(Washington) — President-elect Joe Biden plans to nominate veteran diplomat William Burns to be the director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Burns, 64, is a former U.S. ambassador to Russia and Jordan. He was deputy secretary of state during the Obama years, but he left the State Department in 2014 to run the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace think tank.

Biden said Burns “shares my profound belief that intelligence must be apolitical and that the dedicated intelligence professionals serving our nation deserve our gratitude and respect.”

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