Trump’s CIA pick is career spymaster, oversaw secret prison
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s pick to be the next director of the CIA is a career spymaster who oversaw torture at a secret prison during one of the darkest chapters in the agency’s history.
If confirmed, 61-year-old Gina Haspel would become the first female head of the CIA.
She’s described by colleagues as a seasoned veteran with 30-plus years of intelligence experience who would lead the agency with integrity. But it’s the few years she spent supervising a secret black site that will be closely scrutinized at her confirmation hearing.
Trump announced on Tuesday that he had chosen Haspel to succeed Mike Pompeo, who is replacing ousted Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. She joined the CIA in 1985 and has been deputy director of the agency since February 2017.