Haspel takes over CIA as first-ever female director

Gina Haspel took over as acting director of the Central Intelligence Agency on Thursday after Mike Pompeo was confirmed by the Senate and sworn in as the new secretary of state. “It is an honor to lead CIA at this critical time,” Haspel said. She is the first female head of the CIA in the agency’s history. However, she is facing an uphill battle to be confirmed in the Senate as the agency’s permanent director, as veterans from the military and intelligence communities have raised questions about the time she spent overseeing a secret torture site in Thailand.