Executive Calendar

Floor Speech

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Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I rise in strong support of the nomination of Avril Haines to be Director of National Intelligence.

Let me speak for a few moments, but I want to first of all thank members of particularly the Intelligence Committee on both sides of the aisle. My good friend, the Senator from Oregon, the Finance Committee chair, is someone who has deep and passionate concerns about the civil libertarian issues in our country. He is part of the yin; there is some yang on that committee. He raised I think important questions with the nominee, and I appreciate his courtesy in allowing this to move forward.

But I also want to thank, at least until tomorrow, the chairman of the committee, Senator Rubio, and my Republican colleagues as well. When we discussed moving on this nomination in a very timely manner, the good Chairman Rubio and Senator Burr worked with all the members of the committee. I thank my friend, the Senator from Idaho, for his courtesy as well.

I am very proud of the fact that the first nomination to be considered under the Biden administration is going to be Ms. Haines. I think that reflects the approach of the Intelligence Committee, and again, I see the chair of the committee on the floor now, and I want to thank him personally--Senator Rubio--while he is on the floor for that courtesy.

I think part of the reason we were able to move so quickly is because this position is of such critical importance to the country that it is only appropriate that it be the first nomination to be confirmed by the Senate.

Avril is extraordinarily qualified for the role, having worked in national security for most of the last two decades. After working for several years at the State Department, Ms. Haines came here to the Senate, where she worked on the Foreign Relations Committee as a deputy chief counsel. Following another stint at State, Ms. Haines moved to the White House, where she served 3 years as a Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Counsel for National Security.

In June of 2013, President Obama chose Ms. Haines to serve as the Deputy Director of the CIA, making her the first woman to hold that office. Ms. Haines served with the Agency until 2015, at which point she moved to academia and the private sector. She was a senior researcher at Columbia University, a senior fellow at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab, and a member of the National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service.

Avril Haines has all the qualifications we would want for a DNI. But more than that, I believe she is firmly committed to rebuilding the office of the Director of National Intelligence and reestablishing the role of that office as not only the coordinator of our Nation's intelligence community but as an adviser to the President and Congress that will not shy away from telling the hard truths.

Since Ms. Haines was nominated for this role by President Biden, I spent a fair amount of time talking to her about her future as the Director of National Intelligence and the enormous job that she will be taking on.

In our conversations and in her confirmation hearings, Ms. Haines was strong and thoughtful about the future challenges our country will face. My first question to her was about China. Her answer was equally clear-eyed, pointing out the many ways in which China is an adversary to our Nation by stealing IP or hacking our systems and undermining our security, while also pointing out that there are many places where we will have to engage with China as a partner, like on tackling climate change.

She had equally focused answers about the role of Iran as a state sponsor of terror and the need to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

For every question she was asked by my colleagues on the committee, she demonstrated that she understood not only the challenges of the coming future but the IC's role in understanding those issues and meeting them head on.

I have also been impressed from the beginning--and continue to be impressed--by her understanding of the important role of the DNI and the IC and her commitment to making sure that the IC tells policymakers what they need to hear, not only what they want to hear.

The last 4 years have been hard on the intelligence community. You only have to read a newspaper or turn on a TV at some point to know that. Since the 2016 election, the IC has faced false accusations of trying to undermine the then-President and seen many of their leaders fired for simply doing the right thing, speaking truth to power. It should surprise no one that all of this has led to some damage within the IC, particularly to morale.

I believe that Avril Haines is the right nominee to repair this damage. She will support the men and women of the IC and protect them from political pressure. She will insist that they tell us their best analysis and not shy away from telling decision makers that their cherished beliefs are wrong. She will insist on telling truth to power.

Ultimately, this is why I urge my colleagues to send a strong message of support for the men and women of the IC and to support Avril Haines for DNI. She is capable, qualified, and will undertake the serious responsibilities with a clear-eyed sense of promise.
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