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Who’s the Next CIA Director?
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Who’s the Next CIA Director?

Your guess is as good as mine—so go ahead

Jeff Stein
Nov 22, 2020
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It’s that joyous, quadrennial time in American politics when The Great Mentioner emerges to anoint the “probable” choices for key cabinet posts.

CIA Directors may or may not be so designated, depending on the administration—Donald Trump elevated Mike Pompeo to cabinet rank in February 2017; Joe Biden may put the DCIA back in his or her place—but, what the hell, let’s join in the guessing game anyway.

Michael Morell, a former acting CIA director, has long been “considered” (that’s Great Mentioner argot) to be the frontrunner to return to Langley as top spy. He was “said” (ditto) to be Hillary Clinton’s choice if she won in 2016. Amid the dumpster fire of the Trump administration, he’s kept relatively quiet, staying distant from the denunciatory flames of other formers. But given Biden’s repeated vows to have a cabinet and coterie around him that “looks like America,” Morell’s candidacy may be a casualty of the ME2 winds sweeping through the Democratic Party, especially considering that …

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