WASHINGTON — President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. tapped David S. Cohen to return as deputy head of the C.I.A., putting an official who is aware of
WASHINGTON — President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. tapped David S. Cohen to return as deputy head of the C.I.A., putting an official who is aware of the company effectively alongside the veteran diplomat he selected to steer it, the Biden transition crew introduced on Friday.
Mr. Cohen had been thought-about a prime contender to turn out to be director of the company, however Mr. Biden as a substitute nominated William J. Burns, who has held a wide range of distinguished diplomatic posts. As a result of Mr. Burns has by no means labored for the C.I.A., bringing again Mr. Cohen offers him a deputy who’s trusted contained in the company and could possibly be a possible successor.
And since the deputy place doesn’t require Senate affirmation, Mr. Cohen will be capable of start work because the performing C.I.A. director on Inauguration Day, whereas Mr. Burns’s nomination is into account.
In talks with transition officers, Mr. Cohen outlined an formidable agenda for the C.I.A. to bolster its work in important areas, together with international local weather change and well being points.
Through the Obama administration, Mr. Cohen was concerned within the C.I.A. evaluation that Russia sought to intervene within the 2016 election to assist President Trump’s election.
Mr. Cohen instructed the Biden transition crew that intelligence companies should broaden their examination of international interference in the US. Mr. Cohen, based on folks aware of his views, believes the federal government should transcend election interference to additionally scrutinize how international powers could also be making an attempt to offer help or affect extremist teams.
Mr. Cohen, 57, has a detailed working relationship with Avril D. Haines, Mr. Biden’s nominee to be director of nationwide intelligence. Ms. Haines served as deputy C.I.A. director earlier than Mr. Cohen, and the 2 labored carefully collectively on the Nationwide Safety Council “deputies committee.”
Ms. Haines’s affirmation listening to was to be held on Friday, however it was postponed as Republicans and Democrats debated over schedule a labeled, in-person question-and-answer session amid security considerations throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
The robust ties between them “will serve the company exceedingly effectively,” mentioned Adm. William H. McRaven, the retired former head of Particular Operations Command. Mr. Cohen, Admiral McRaven added, “has the expertise, the management abilities, the temperament and the respect of your complete intelligence neighborhood.”
Present and former intelligence officers spoke warmly of Mr. Cohen’s first stint on the company, noting each his advocacy for the C.I.A. contained in the Obama administration and his potential to rapidly win over colleagues.
“He is a superb listener,” mentioned John O. Brennan, a former director. “As quickly as he arrived, he felt very a lot at house, and that was one thing folks detected as a result of he turned an ardent supporter and defender of the company.”
Mr. Cohen can also be an enthusiastic desk tennis participant, dominating video games at C.I.A. charity fund-raisers, based on an official.
Extra significantly, former officers mentioned, Mr. Cohen confirmed a deft hand at coping with the considerations of C.I.A. line officers. After the 2016 election, he gathered C.I.A. personnel from demographic teams that Mr. Trump had insulted throughout the marketing campaign, together with Muslim and Hispanic officers, telling them the company would proceed to worth range and help their careers, based on former officers.
Earlier than his first stint on the C.I.A., Mr. Cohen was the Treasury Division’s beneath secretary for terrorism and monetary intelligence from 2011 to 2015. In that function, he presided over a 700-person crew, traveled extensively and labored with diplomats and international intelligence officers to construct help for the Obama administration’s sanctions in opposition to Iran.
His in-depth information of the Islamic State’s makes an attempt to smuggle oil in 2014 earned him the nickname “monetary Batman” within the Obama White Home.
“He got here throughout to officers each at Treasury and at C.I.A. as exceptionally good, particularly on points having to do with terrorism and worldwide cash flows,” mentioned David Priess, a former C.I.A. officer who’s now on the Lawfare Institute. “And so they additionally discovered he’s simply nice to transient, in no way a troublesome character to work with.”
Mr. Cohen, together with Mr. Biden’s different intelligence picks, is anticipated to observe the suggestions of the Home Intelligence Committee that referred to as for a shift of assets to focus extra on China. It’s an space of bipartisan settlement: Republican Home members have additionally pressed for extra assets to counter China, and beneath John Ratcliffe, the director of nationwide intelligence, the Trump administration has directed new efforts to shore up information-gathering on the nation.
Mr. Cohen is hardly well-known past Washington, although after the tip of the Obama administration, he made a cameo look as a bedraggled commoner within the HBO collection “Sport of Thrones.” When the C.I.A. posted an image of his look on Twitter, Mr. Cohen joked, “Solution to blow my cowl!”