President Bush has nominated Air Force General Michael Hayden as CIA chief to set up a likely battle with some members of Congress over having a military man head the civilian spy agency.
National Security Agency (NSA) Director Lieutenant General Michael Hayden testifies before a joint hearing of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence at the Capitol in Washington in this October 17, 2002. Photo: William Philpott/Reuters
"He's the right man to lead the CIA at this critical moment," Mr Bush said in the Oval Office announcement.
If confirmed by the Senate, Gen Hayden would replace CIA director Porter Goss, who was eased out of his job on Friday after less than two years.
A number of legislators, including some from Mr Bush's Republican Party, have voiced concern about Gen Hayden being a general with close ties to the military and his role in an eavesdropping programme attacked by critics as a violation of civil rights.
"It sends the wrong signal," said Peter Hoekstra, a Michigan Republican who heads the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee. "I'm not sure he can adapt."
The CIA lost clout when it fell under a newly created director of national intelligence as part of reforms in response to intelligence failures over the September 11th attacks.
Tensions between national intelligence director John Negroponte and former CIA chief Goss grew as the new intelligence arm sought to assert itself over the CIA and met opposition from the spy agency, administration officials have said.