Washington, DC - Widespread Praise for Gina Haspel, President Trump’s Nominee for CIA Director:
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY): “[Haspel] has dedicated her professional life to the national security of the United States, and has repeatedly proven to be a consummate intelligence officer and leader. I look forward to supporting her nomination.”
Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Richard Burr (R-NC): “I know Gina personally and she has the right skill set, experience, and judgment to lead one of our nation’s most critical agencies. I’m proud of her work, and know that my committee will continue its positive relationship with the Central Intelligence Agency under her leadership. I look forward to supporting her nomination, ensuring its consideration without delay.”
Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL): “I think the fact that she is a 30 year professional is a good sign.”
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL): “Met with Gina Haspel, nominee to be the next director of the @CIA. Given her experience as a career intelligence officer, I am confident that Gina will be a great leader for the CIA.”
Sen. James Risch (R-ID): “Gina Haspel is well-respected in the intelligence community.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC): “[Haspel] is very highly qualified. Mr. Clapper supports her. Leon Panetta supports her. Mr. Hayden supports her. She is excellent at what she does…”
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX): “Gina Haspel is a patriot…. She will be first woman director of the CIA and the first operations officer as opposed to a political appointee or an analyst in the last 40 years. This is an enormously popular pick, and she’ll do a great job.”
Rep. Ralph Abraham (R-LA): “Not only is she the most qualified, Ms. Haspel will be the first woman in this powerful position. The president continues to break glass ceilings at every level.”
Former CIA Directors, Deputy Directors, and Intelligence Professionals
Former CIA Director John Brennan: “Gina is an exceptionally well-respected professional within CIA. She has held a number of senior-level positions over the years, and has acquitted herself very competently. And I think she has the experience—the breadth and depth—on intelligence issues in dealing with these meddlesome foreign policy issues for many, many years so that she will be able to provide that unvarnished, apolitical, objective intelligence input to Donald Trump and to others.”
Former CIA Director Leon Panetta: “She served the CIA well…. I’m glad they have a first woman as head of CIA, and I’m glad it’s Gina, because frankly, she is someone who really knows the CIA inside out.”
Former CIA Director Michael Hayden: “[Haspel] is the absolute best choice to be Director of CIA.”
Former CIA Deputy Director and Former White House Deputy National Security Advisor Avril Haines: “Gina Haspel is intelligent, compassionate, and fair. Moreover, Gina has an unparalleled understanding of the institution, the Agency’s work, and she will support the workforce — all attributes the Agency needs from its Director.”
Former Acting CIA Director and CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell: “She is capable. She has integrity. She cares deeply about the mission of the agency and she cares deeply about the men and women of the agency.”
Former Acting CIA Director and CIA Deputy Director John E. McLaughlin: “If you were picking a professional officer to head the agency I can’t think of a better person than Gina.”
Former CIA Deputy Executive Director Carmen Landa Middleton: “I had the privilege of working with Gina for several years, and in addition to a highly effective senior leader, I found her to be a generous and self-effacing individual.”
Former CIA Deputy Director for Operations David Cohen: “Everyone I know who worked with her raved about her. She will be a successful CIA director because of her knowledge of the agency: operational, analytical, technical, and supportive elements. She understands intelligence, the agency’s role, and its capabilities.”
Former CIA Deputy Director of Intelligence Carmen Medina: “I think Gina Haspel would do quite well as director of CIA. She is a thoughtful professional who has a balanced understanding of CIA’s role: she knows firsthand the operator’s world but also understands the importance of analytic rigor and objectivity.”
Former Director of U.S. National Clandestine Service Frank Archibald: “I never saw the moment be too big for her.”
Former Director of U.S. National Clandestine Service John Bennett: “… [Haspel] is one of the most accomplished officers of her generation, having held a series of major field commands and headquarters positions…. She is extremely smart, strong and unfailingly honest. She is totally committed to the CIA’s mission…. It will be very reassuring for the CIA work force that the president has selected a respected career professional to be the next DCIA.”
Former Director of U.S. National Clandestine Service Mike Sulick: “[She is] calm, very unflappable, very smart.”
Former CIA Assistant Director for Collection Charles Allen: “As a CIA officer who served 47 years at the Agency, I welcome the President’s decision to nominate Gina Haspel to be the next Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Gina is a consummate intelligence professional who deeply understands CIA’s extraordinary global capabilities, and the vital role it plays in helping keep the country safe.”
Former CIA Acting General Counsel and Senior Deputy General Counsel Robert Eatinger: “If confirmed, Gina will be a great CIA director. She is a very experienced and thoughtful operations officer who has held a series of leadership posts. She has the experience independently to assess the potential for success of proposed operations. She is also uniquely positioned to weigh anticipated intelligence gains against potential long-term losses. That strength in leadership, especially when learned in the ‘school of hard knocks,’ is today often undervalued by those seeking only the satisfaction of retribution.”
Former State Department Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Deputy Chief of the CIA Counterterrorist Center Henry Crumpton: “[Haspel] is the best candidate, I think, in the last generation. She is a terrific combination of operational skill and field leadership… if confirmed, she will be the first operations officer to lead the CIA in more than 40 years.”
Former Deputy Director of CIA’s Counterterrorist Center Paul R. Pillar: “An insider obviously brings a depth of knowledge about the arcane business of intelligence that no outsider would have. Such a candidate also will be attuned to long-term institutional standards and equities and to the importance of finding ways to buffer the agency from political vicissitudes so that it can accomplish its mission. Haspel, who presumably will bring such knowledge and awareness to the job, gets high marks from other intelligence professionals who have worked with her.”
Former CIA Acting Director and Associate Director of Operations Jack Devine: “The first thing you think of is a professional…. I think she will show extremely well.”
Former CIA Associate Deputy Director of Operations Robert Richer: “I worked closely with her for many years and know that she is the right person to lead the CIA as the agency addresses a world of threats. The Gina Haspel I know is a courageous leader, a selfless officer, and someone devoted to the men and women she has worked with and led…. She is a person with no political agenda, high moral character, great integrity and compassion.”
Former CIA Chief of Station Alex Bolling: “Gina Haspel has taken the hard field assignments and grappled with complex collection issues. She, like the organization, has been tempered in the crucible of mission-critical collection operations designed to protect our country at a time of war. The American people will be well served by a DCIA with firsthand experience from the front lines – and deep behind the enemy’s lines – in our nation’s longest conflict.”
Former CIA Chief of Station Daniel Hoffman: “Having served multiple times as a senior leader in headquarters and the field, Ms. Haspel is adept at collaborating within the CIA and the intelligence community. She can disentangle the most complex challenges by rallying stakeholders in common cause. She fosters an inclusive environment by respecting different backgrounds and viewpoints and strives for the 360-degree optic, which best serves the mission. Congress should have no trouble recognizing the key traits that make Ms. Haspel the right choice to lead the CIA: integrity, substantive expertise in the art of intelligence, leadership excellence and commitment to our mission and people. She earned tremendous respect and admiration from CIA and U.S. government colleagues, as well as senior foreign leaders.”
Former CIA Case Officer Robert Baer: “I supervised Gina Haspel when I worked at the Central Intelligence Agency. I found her to be smart, tough and effective. Foreign liaison services who have worked with her uniformly walked away impressed.”
Former Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs and CIA Officer Mary Beth Long: “Gina will do a fantastic job. She knows how the building works…. Most importantly, she has the admiration and respect of the workforce.”
Intelligence and National Security Officials
Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats: “[Haspel is an] exceptional, professional, and talented individual.”
Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence Susan (Sue) Gordon: “She is so solid, so true, and so not breathless that she will be an amazing leader of CIA. This woman is the right person at the right time.”
Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper: “I think the world of Gina; she is capable, smart, very experienced, well respected by the Agency rank and file, and a great person.”
Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Admiral James G. Stavridis: “She is a professional. She has a 30-year track record at the agency. She is a field operator. She is very, very popular among CIA rank-and-file as well as the senior leaders there…. I endorse her, and I think she will be a very strong CIA director. I’m hopeful she will be confirmed.”
Former Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI): “I can say without hesitation that Gina Haspel is an exceptional leader and committed to the mission to keep America safe. She has demonstrated the grit and savvy needed in difficult situations that have earned her the respect of colleagues and adversaries alike. She will make an excellent Director of the CIA. Her commitment to the mission and rule of law are unparalleled.”
Former Attorney General Michael Mukasey: “Gina Haspel is superbly well qualified to head the CIA, not only by experience in directing the Agency’s operations but also by the well-earned esteem she has throughout the intelligence community. Anyone concerned with protecting this nation’s security should welcome her nomination.”
Former Defense Intelligence Agency Deputy Director Doug Wise: “[Haspel] has been tested by some of the toughest battles this nation has seen, and she is up to the task…. As long as I’ve known her, she’s taken the tough jobs…. She understands our business and our culture from a perspective that no outsider could possess.”
Retired U.S. Army Reserve Lieutenant Colonel and Senior Fellow at the London Center for Policy Research Tony Shaffer: “She could be the most qualified person ever to be nominated to be CIA Director. She has been extensively versed in all the global operations CIA conducts. I think that’s one of the key things. She is not someone who has been pigeonholed in a certain area her entire career. I think she has had a wide range of operational assignments, which gives her a broad view.”
Former Counselor to the Attorney General for National Security and International Matters Amy Jeffress: “I worked closely with Gina during my government service. She is thoughtful, conscientious, and committed to the rule of law. She is very well respected within the Agency and is an excellent choice for Director.”
Commentators and Thinkers
American Thinker’s Elise Cooper: “…Haspel should be confirmed as CIA director because she is on the side of justice and patriotism…. Haspel never concentrated on her career path, but instead focused on the national security of this country.”
Columnist & Former Pentagon Official Douglas MacKinnon: “In her long career at the CIA, Haspel has served under both Republican and Democratic presidents and is a real-life ‘Wonder Woman’ of our time who has saved the lives of countless American citizens and other innocents around the world.”
National Review Editor Rich Lowry: “No one doubts her professionalism.”
The Washington Post Columnist Hugh Hewitt: “…[W]e know she has received one of the agency’s highest awards for operational success and we know she has dedicated her adult life to protecting the country, often in far-off, dangerous places and with extraordinary competence over a very long time…. [T]he president needs the strongest national security team possible heading into the summit with North Korea, as well as standoffs with Russia and accelerating competition with China. The country needs a depoliticized, extremely competent CIA. We need Director Gina Haspel as soon as possible.”
The Weekly Standard Editorial Board: “She is a career intelligence officer and has served as CIA station chief in locations around the globe, including the crucial London station. Her integrity and skill are unchallenged. She has, moreover, a reputation for impartiality…. Gina Haspel is a strong and capable woman. She would be the first female to lead the CIA, and we can expect she will do so with great skill and professionalism.”
Washington Examiner Commentary Writer Tom Rogan: “President Trump has picked agency veteran Gina Haspel to replace Mike Pompeo as CIA director. Her candidacy has the support of every CIA director in recent memory — including John Brennan and Mike Morrell — and the overwhelming majority of CIA employees…. Haspel deserves appointment as the director of central intelligence.”
