It was Joe Biden's choice.

William Burns was invested, Thursday, March 18, at the head of the CIA by a unanimous vote of the American senators, a rare moment in a deeply divided Congress.

A diplomat for 33 years, this ex-ambassador in Moscow has an atypical profile for this post: he is neither military, nor political, nor from Intelligence.

The new head of US intelligence, Avril Haines, nonetheless warmly welcomed the confirmation of an "extraordinary public servant, who has devoted much of his life to serving the government". 

During his confirmation hearing in the Senate in January, William Burns assured him that he had an in-depth knowledge of the CIA, which he had worked with regularly in his career.

Artisan of dialogue with Tehran

Craftsman of the dialogue with Tehran which led to the international nuclear agreement in 2015, he felt that the United States should "do everything to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon".

He retired in 2014 before taking the helm of the Carnegie Foundation for International Peace, a think tank on international relations, whose exchange program with a Chinese organization seen as a propaganda body has been criticized by some senators.

During his hearing, he said that the Chinese government's "predatory" attitude represented the "greatest geopolitical challenge" for the United States. 

Tight vote for Xavier Becerra

In a much closer vote, with 50 votes for and 49 against, the senators also confirmed Thursday the appointment of Xavier Becerra as Minister of Health of Joe Biden, the first Hispanic to occupy this key position in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has claimed more than 530,000 lives in the United States. 

Elected for more than two decades to the House of Representatives then Attorney General of California, Xavier Becerra "has spent his career fighting to expand access to the health system," Joe Biden said when announcing his appointment in December.

Republicans denounce his lack of medical experience, and consider him too progressive.

With AFP

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