Biden names CIA Director William Burns to his cabinet

Washington, July 22 (BNA): US President Joe Biden said on Friday that he had asked CIA Director William Burns to become a member of his cabinet, to promote one of his closest advisers on national security and foreign policy.

Bonnie Glaser, head of the Indo-Pacific Program at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, said the appointment reflects Biden’s confidence in Burns and his professional experience.

Glaser said Burns, who became the first career diplomat to lead the CIA in 2021, “made a significant contribution to national security decision-making, especially with regard to Russia and China.”

Burns is not the first CIA director to reach a cabinet position. Former President Bill Clinton also appointed CIA directors—John Deutch and George Tenet—to serve in his cabinet, as Ronald Reagan did with William Casey.

Daniel Byman, director of the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, saw it as a testament to Byrne’s “incredible effectiveness rather than a broader decision about the CIA’s role in the Cabinet.”

“Burns has been a very important part of Biden’s foreign policy, serving of course as an intelligence chief but also as a diplomat in Ukraine, the Middle East and other parts of the world,” he said. “Biden wants to take advantage of Burns’ knowledge and skill as he formulates his foreign policy.”

It’s common for presidents to change agencies represented in their cabinets, said a White House official.

For example, former President Barack Obama elevated the position of head of the Small Business Administration to the Cabinet and Clinton added FEMA head James Witt to his cabinet.

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