Senator Collins’ Statement on Confirmation of Avril Haines as DNI

Washington, D.C.—U.S. Senator Susan Collins, a member of the Intelligence Committee, issued a statement following her vote to confirm Avril Haines to be the Director of National Intelligence (DNI).  Ms. Haines, who is President Biden’s first nominee to be approved by the Senate, was confirmed by a vote of 84-10.

“After consideration of her nomination, I voted for Avril Haines to be the next Director of National Intelligence.  As one of the principal authors of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 that created the DNI position, I care deeply about who serves in this capacity and the critical role the DNI plays in the Intelligence Community. 

“Ms. Haines is well-qualified to serve in this position, and I appreciate her pledge during the Intelligence Committee’s hearing to be apolitical and share Intelligence Community views with the President and his staff even when they do not match their policy positions.  I also value her commitment to the IC workforce, with whom she has served before as Deputy Director of CIA.  While I do not agree with all of her policy positions—such as on Iran—I believe she is more than qualified to serve as DNI, and I look forward to working with her to strengthen our national security.”

Yesterday, Senator Collins attended Ms. Haines’ confirmation hearing in-person and asked the nominee to clarify her stances on the Iran nuclear deal and China.  Senator Collins also attended a classified in-person only briefing to discuss sensitive national security issues with the nominee.