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In both agencies, Biden is considering candidates with extensive background in their field and experience in Washington – but some of his candidates also arouse dissent from corners of the Democratic Party, which could make the choice of president-elect more complicated.
For weeks, observers speculated that Biden would hand over the Defense Ministry to Michèle Flournoy, the Pentagon’s most seasoned defense expert, although she faced opposition from progressives.
A decision on the candidate for the post of defense secretary is expected to be made in early December and early next week, according to transition advisers, with at least two other potential candidates still in the running besides Flournoy.
Transition advisers say options presented to Biden include Jeh Johnson, the former Homeland Security secretary in the Obama administration. Some former officials close to the selection process believe Johnson is also vying for the post of attorney general, pointing to the idea that Biden’s team is still trying to fit various candidates into the Cabinet puzzle.
Another name has been thrown to head the Department of Defense: Senator Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat and decorated veteran who was wounded in combat.
Two transition advisers have warned against reading that Flournoy has not been included in the national security team announced this week in Wilmington.
But it was also not immediately clear why she wasn’t on stage with the nominees for Secretary of State, Director of National Intelligence and Secretary of Homeland Security, given that she was a well-known quantity. , a leader in the defense arena for years and has been widely seen as a top candidate to lead the Pentagon from Biden.
A transition adviser told CNN that Cabinet members should be seen as pieces of a larger puzzle, rather than just a series of individual decisions. And Biden and his team were taking more time to put together other selections before announcing his choice of Secretary of Defense.
A transition adviser said Flournoy’s well-known differences with Biden over the years over Iraq and Afghanistan policy were not a factor in the decision-making process, underscoring the warning from the president-elect on Tuesday .
If Flournoy is the candidate, she should prioritize spending on future technologies and restoring civil-military balance at the Pentagon to ensure that the most critical political decisions and discussions are under the control of civilian officials. .
The two main contenders for filling Haspel’s shoes, according to people familiar with the names the Transition Team talks about, are former acting CIA director Michael Morell and former National Security Advisor Tom Donilon.
‘Apologist for torture’
Morell is not known to have a close relationship with Biden, but is a 30-year CIA veteran and highly respected by the agency base. Donilon, having led the National Security Council in the White House, worked more closely with Biden and his team during the Obama administration.
A transition team manager declined to comment on the candidates and the process.
Contact between Biden’s transition team and potential candidates has been minimal, leaving them in the dark about their position, according to people familiar with the outreach. Both candidates and their records are well known to the president-elect and to those who help him make the decision.
The possible choice will first have to be voted on by the Senate Intelligence Committee. Biden’s team consulted with some key Democrats on Capitol Hill regarding the CIA director position, according to a source familiar with the talks who told CNN that several names had been discussed, including Morell’s.
Wyden was referring to the so-called CIA Enhanced Interrogation Techniques, or EIT, which were being used under Morell’s watch at the agency. In an interview with CBS 60 Minutes in 2013, Morell called them “false” and “incompatible with American values.”
But he also wrote in his 2015 book, “The Great War of Our Time,” that although he was “troubled” by waterboarding on Al Qaeda, “I believe waterboarding was one of two techniques. the most effective of all the harsh techniques ”.
“Morell was in no way involved in the creation of the EIT program and he did not even hear about it until 2006, four years after its launch,” said Morell spokesperson Nick Shapiro. “He said publicly in a 2013 interview ’60 (Minutes) ‘and wrote in his 2015 book that he believed waterboarding was indeed torture.
Donilon wouldn’t come without his own complications.
As a manager, he was known to create an intense and difficult work environment. Prior to joining the Obama administration, Donilon was a top Fannie Mae executive for six years during the real estate boom, quitting before the company imploded and was forced to pay the federal government $ 400 million for inaccurate revenues for his stay there.
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