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The first confirmation hearing for one of President-elect Joe Biden’s crucial cabinet positions has been abruptly postponed, senior members of the Senate Intelligence Committee said Thursday.
Biden announced in November that Avril Haines, who held senior positions in national security under former President Barack Obama, would become his director of national intelligence in his administration. The virtual hearing was scheduled for Friday but has been postponed.
A Republican Senate aide told NBC News there was no postponed date yet for the rescheduled hearing, but the delay happened in part because members wanted to be able to attend in person. The aide said they did not expect this to “significantly delay the confirmation process.” Another aide said the Senate hoped to hold the hearing on Tuesday.
Having served under Obama as a national security attorney and deputy director of the CIA, Haines, 51, played a key national security role in Biden’s transition. She will become the first woman in the post of DNI, which was created after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 to better coordinate the vast American intelligence bureaucracy.
Senator Marco Rubio, R-Fla., Who is the acting chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Senator Mark Warner, D-Va., Deputy chairman, said in a joint statement Thursday that the group was working to “In good faith” to have a confirmation hearing.
“Despite the unusual circumstances at Capitol Hill, the committee is working in good faith to move this candidate as quickly as possible and to ensure that committee members have the opportunity to question him in both open and closed contexts,” the officials said. legislators.
“The Director of National Intelligence plays a critical role in overseeing the 18 agencies that make up our nation’s intelligence community, and the committee looks forward to holding a hearing next week with Ms. Haines.
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