AVRIL Haines becomes first female to head US intelligence

US Senate has confirmed Avril Danica Haines,51, as Director of National Intelligence in Biden’s Administration. The Senate voted 84-10 to confirm her with only Republicans opposing her nomination. New York-born,   American Jew, Haines was a lawyer and former government official. She had served as Deputy National Security Advisor and Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency in the Obama administration, the first woman to hold this position.  Haines was deputy director of the CIA under Obama. Her mother was the Jewish painter Adrian Rappin (originally Rappaport), and her non-Jewish father once wrote in an account about a trip with Haines to Israel that the nominee identifies as Jewish. Haines has earned bipartisan praise, served in several national security positions under the Obama administration, she was also deputy national security adviser, The Hill reported. During her opening statement, she pledged to keep the intelligence department away from  politics and said, “To be effective, the director of national intelligence must never shy away from speaking truth to power, even, especially, when doing so may be inconvenient or difficult.” Haines told senators Tuesday that Biden “has made it absolutely clear that he expects the intelligence community to present him with an apolitical, truth-to-power analysis. Biden has lauded the Senate for confirming Haines as Director of National Intelligence. “I applaud the Senate for putting partisanship aside to prioritize our national security. Americans can rest easy tonight knowing Avril Haines has been confirmed as the Director of National Intelligence,” he said. courtesy for the picture to USA TODAY. edited by PK Chakravarty