Biden to Restore Homeland Security and Cybersecurity Aides to Senior White House Posts
The two appointments illustrate how the president-elect appears determined to rebuild a White House national security team to focus on threats that critics say were ignored by President Trump.
The headquarters of the National Security Agency at Fort Meade, Md. President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. is expected to take a harder stand against Russian hacking.Credit.T.J. Kirkpatrick for The New York Times
Jan. 13, 2021
President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr., facing the rise of domestic terrorism and a crippling cyberattack from Russia, is elevating two White House posts that all but disappeared in the Trump administration: a homeland security adviser to manage matters as varied as extremism, pandemics and natural disasters, and the first deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technology.
The House and Senate sergeants-at-arms, who have resigned, now face questions about why they failed to do more to deter the Trump loyalists who swarmed the Capitol last week.
William Burns Is Bidenâs Choice for C.I.A. Director
The president-elect has decided to place the agency in the hands of a career Foreign Service officer who is well regarded by the rank and file.
William J. Burns has been vocal in his belief that American diplomacy has been damaged during the Trump administration.Credit.Brendan Hoffman for The New York Times
Jan. 11, 2021
WASHINGTON â President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. has selected William J. Burns, a career State Department official who led the U.S. delegation in secret talks with Iran, to run the C.I.A.
In selecting Mr. Burns, Mr. Biden is turning to an experienced diplomat with whom he has a long relationship. The two men have worked together on foreign policy issues, not just during the Obama administration, but also while Mr. Biden led the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
The departures of cabinet secretaries and White House aides may put pressure on the president, but some see reputation management at work for officials whose jobs would end soon anyway.