Gina Haspel to be first woman boss of CIA

Gina Haspel, US President Donald Trump’s nominee to become the first woman to lead the CIA, is a veteran, who once reportedly ran a secret prison in Thailand where terrorism suspects were allegedly subjected to harsh interrogation techniques like waterboarding. In a surprise move, Trump announced on Tuesday that he was removing Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and replacing him with CIA Director Mike Pompeo and elevating Haspel, who was his deputy. The Senate must vote on 61year-old Haspel’s confirmation to succeed Pompeo. Haspel, who joined the CIA in 1985, earned high-level awards during her career and was sworn in as deputy director of the CIA on February 7, 2017, among the first officials in the Trump administration, reports PTI. In that post, she assisted managing intelligence collection, analysis, covert action and counterintelligence, and liaison relationships with foreign services, according to the Central Intelligence Agency’s website. Trump said in a statement that Haspel’s appointment would be “a historic milestone.”

He said she and Pompeo “have worked together for more than a year and have developed a great mutual respect.”

Before leaving the White House for California, Trump heaped more praise on Haspel: “Gina, by the way, who I know very well, who I’ve worked very closely with, will be the first woman director of the CIA,” he said. “She’s an outstanding person,” the US president commented.