US President Joe Biden has formally nominated former deputy secretary of state William Burns as new director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
The White House said the Biden administration sent Burns' nomination to the Senate on Wednesday for confirmation.
If confirmed by the Senate, Burns would replace Gina Haspel, who was nominated by former President Donald Trump to lead the CIA in 2018. The Democrats control the upper chamber of the US Congress.
Burns has more than three decades of experience in the US foreign service and has served in multiple national security positions for Democratic and Republican administrations.
