Biden Elevates CIA Director Burns to Cabinet Member

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Facts

  • US Pres. Joe Biden on Friday announced that Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns has been named to serve as a member of his cabinet, an advisory board viewed as leading on key priority issues.1
  • Biden stressed that Burns would offer a "clear-eyed long-term approach" to America's top national security challenges, citing the Russia-Ukraine conflict, US-China relations, and the risks of artificial intelligence as issues in which his advice would be critical.2
  • This largely symbolic move reflects the influence the veteran diplomat has in the Biden admin. as well as the critical role he has taken in shaping US foreign policy, particularly in relation to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.3
  • Burns has often been tasked with managing delicate situations overseas, having frequently traveled to Kyiv since the conflict broke out and becoming the senior-most US official to visit Beijing after a rise in tensions.4
  • He has also been the US top messenger to Russia, being deployed to Moscow in November 2021 to warn Vladimir Putin against carrying out operations in Ukraine, which was ultimately ignored.5
  • This decision marks the second time that the once typical cabinet-level post of CIA director has been elevated to the advisory body since 2005 when the role of director of national intelligence was created. Both positions first served alongside in former Pres. Donald Trump's cabinet.6

Sources: 1The Hill, 2The Washington Times, 3Washington Post, 4CBS, 5Washington Examiner, and 6New York Times.

Narratives

  • Democratic narrative, as provided by CNN. Under the leadership of Bill Burns, the CIA has made vital contributions to national security decision-making while also playing a major role in the US strategy regarding Russia as it unlawfully attacks Ukraine. While Cabinet nominations are mostly symbolic measures, this move does recognize his influence in the Biden administration.
  • Republican narrative, as provided by The Epoch Times. Burns has long been one of Biden's closest advisers, so the fact that Biden has named him to a largely ceremonial post in the Cabinet has effectively no meaning at all. Yet, it's undeniably shocking to notice that a cabinet-level official met with Jeffrey Epstein at least three times after the financier had already been convicted of sex crimes.

Predictions