Senate Votes to Confirm Biden Nominee Avril Haines as Director of National Intelligence

The United States Senate voted Wednesday night to confirm President Joe Biden’s first Cabinet-level official, the Director of National Intelligence.

In a bipartisan vote of 84 to 10, the Senate confirmed Avril Haines to be Director of National Intelligence. Biden, who was officially sworn in a as the 46th President of the United States earlier today, nominated Haines to the position that will oversee 18 intelligence agencies. Haines’ confirmation makes her the first woman in history to lead the intelligence community.

Haines stated that she hopes to “set a strategic vision” for the intelligence community in an effort to ensure that the United States is “well postured to address developing threats and take advantage of new opportunities as they arise.”

“To be effective, the DNI must never shy away from speaking truth to power,” Haines said in her opening statement. “Especially when doing so may be inconvenient or difficult.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer was quick to praise the Senate’s quick confirmation of Haines, adding that Biden’s cabinet is needed as “quickly as possible.”

“Avril Haines was the right choice for Director of National Intelligence,” Schumer said in a statement. “We appreciate the bipartisan cooperation to get her confirmed tonight, and we hope there will be a lot more of it because the nation is in crisis and we need President Biden’s team in place as quickly as possible.”

Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, acting chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, also praised Haines’ confirmation, saying he is “pleased my Senate colleagues joined me in swiftly confirming Director Haines.”

“Our adversaries will not stand by and wait for the new administration to staff critical positions, and I am pleased my Senate colleagues joined me in swiftly confirming Director Haines to this important post,” Rubio said.

Haines received criticism after she co-signed a letter in May promoted by the radical left-wing J Street group to push the Democratic Party to criticize Israel in its platform. Haines also previously served as a consultant to a controversial Silicon Valley technology firm that provided digital profiling tools that helped facilitate U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids on illegal immigrants.