Bush Selects Congressman to Head CIA

President Bush nominated Rep. Porter J. Goss of Florida on Tuesday to serve as director of the CIA, tapping a loyal Republican and former covert operative to lead the beleaguered agency during a time of rising terrorist alerts and calls for sweeping intelligence reform.

“He’s the right man to lead this important agency at this critical moment in our nation’s history,” Bush said of Goss, who had served as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee for the last seven years. “He is well prepared for this mission.”

Because of his background in Congress and his nine-year stint in the CIA’s clandestine service, Goss has been considered a leading candidate for director of central intelligence. His nomination ends weeks of speculation on whether the White House would name a replacement for George J. Tenet -- who resigned as CIA director July 11 amid mounting criticism -- before the November election.

By naming Goss, the White House appears to be seeking to put a sturdy congressional ally in a key slot on its national security team and protect itself from criticism that it was allowing the CIA to be led by an interim director, John McLaughlin, during a period of ominous terrorist threat warnings.

But selecting Goss carries some risks for the administration. Critics could use the nomination to rekindle the issue that the Bush administration used flawed intelligence in making the case for war with Iraq and to question whether a White House ally would ensure the independence of intelligence operations. Critics question whether Goss is the right person to undertake the job of rebuilding the agency.

“No one is the best choice right now because in the short term any new [CIA director] is going to create new instability,” said Steven Aftergood, an intelligence expert at the independent Federation of American Scientists. “And the new [director] may end up serving the shortest tenure of anyone who has held that position.”

Goss, 65, could face a difficult confirmation fight in the Senate, where key Democrats said Tuesday it was a mistake for the White House to pick a partisan figure to head an agency often accused of bowing to pressure from the Bush administration.

“The selection of a politician -- any politician, from either party -- is a mistake,” said Sen. John D. “Jay” Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.), the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, which will preside over Goss’ confirmation hearings. “Porter Goss will need to answer tough questions about his record and his position on reform, including questions on the independence of the leader of the intelligence community.”

However, if he is confirmed, as many expect, Goss will be stepping into a job surrounded by uncertainty, as Congress and the White House consider reforms that could greatly reduce the clout of the CIA director.

In its final report last month, the commission that investigated the Sept. 11 attacks urged a massive restructuring of the nation’s spy community, including the creation of a director who would outrank the CIA director and oversee the activities of all 15 intelligence agencies.

Several committees in Congress are drafting legislation based on that recommendation and others. If legislation is enacted, Goss could see his authority eroded within months, making him the first CIA director who does not report directly to the president or have authority over other spy agencies.

Bush did not address how Goss might fit into the restructuring plans, or whether the lawmaker might be elevated to national intelligence director if such a position were created. Bush said he would welcome advice from the Florida Republican “as to how best to implement broader intelligence reform, including the recommendations of the 9/11 commission.”

Bush called Goss a reformer who would be charged with bringing change to the CIA, an agency whose reputation has been battered by investigations of its failures to prevent the Sept. 11 attacks and its erroneous prewar assertions that Iraq had stockpiles of weapons.

Goss has mixed credentials as an advocate for overhauling the intelligence community. For much of his career, Goss has been criticized for being too close to the CIA. But he stunned CIA officials this year when he issued a scathing critique in a House bill that accused the agency of “ignoring its core mission” and warned it was heading “over a proverbial cliff” after years of mismanagement.

More important, Goss has resisted embracing the reforms urged by the Sept. 11 commission, which have become a key issue in the presidential campaign.

In recent hearings, Goss urged caution in considering the commission’s proposals. He also introduced legislation in June that was at odds with the commission’s ideas for reform. Most notably, the Goss bill did not call for the creation of a national intelligence director, and instead would expand the powers of the director of the CIA.

An official in the campaign of Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kerry, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Goss’ appointment sent “a signal of Bush’s go-slow approach” toward the creation of an intelligence czar and a counter-terrorism center -- another key recommendation from the panel.

Former CIA chief Stansfield Turner, a Kerry supporter who served in President Carter’s administration, called Goss “a terrible appointment” intended “to help George Bush win votes in Florida,” according to Associated Press.

Even some Republicans acknowledged that Goss’ selection sent mixed signals on the White House’s commitment to reform. A Republican congressional official who spoke on condition of anonymity said he raised this issue with the White House and was told that Goss would abandon his own bill and back the president’s vision of reform, which included the creation of a national intelligence director.

White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan declined to speculate on whether Goss would get the czar job, saying such talk was premature. Instead, he called on the Senate to “move forward quickly” on the nomination and predicted that Goss would be “warmly received” on Capitol Hill.

During his term on the House Intelligence Committee, Goss has advocated giving the CIA more resources and expanding the ranks of its clandestine service. In brief remarks at the White House on Tuesday, he indicated this would remain a priority.

“The essence of our intelligence capability is people, and we have some wonderful Americans doing a great job,” Goss said in a Rose Garden appearance with Bush. “I used to be part of them when I worked for CIA. I’m very proud to be associated with them again.”

Among critics and Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee, a key issue will be whether Goss can shield the CIA from political pressure from the White House. “That will be a major focus for me,” said Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.).

Goss is considered close to Vice President Dick Cheney, and has vigorously defended the White House on issues including the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

When the head of the CIA’s weapons search team, David Kay, returned from Iraq in October and said no weapons had been found, Goss declared during a news conference, “Those weapons are there.” He added he saw “no evidence whatsoever that anybody misled anybody.”

As nominee, Goss may have to defend his record as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee during a period of massive failures. In its final report, the Sept. 11 commission said Congress had been slow to recognize the terrorist threat, did little to prod the intelligence community to adapt, and described congressional oversight as dysfunctional.

“It’s fair to ask what the oversight panel was doing during this period,” said a former committee staff member who worked with Goss, speaking anonymously. “Where was the oversight when the CIA said Saddam [Hussein] had weapons of mass destruction? The fact is congressional oversight has been weak for more than a decade.”

McClellan brushed aside criticism, saying Goss had “been dedicated to positive change within the intelligence community.” A former congressional aide who worked with Goss defended the lawmaker, saying he repeatedly pushed for reforms during the late 1990s but was “swimming upstream” against opposition from the Clinton administration.

Goss stepped down Tuesday as chairman of the House panel, according to John Feehery, a spokesman for House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.). Feehery said that Goss would remain a member of the committee and that Hastert had not made a decision on who would succeed Goss as chairman.

The committee was scheduled to resume hearings today on Sept. 11 commission reforms. Sept. 11 commission Chairman Thomas H. Kean and Vice Chairman Lee H. Hamilton are scheduled to testify.

If Goss is confirmed, he would replace McLaughlin, who has been serving on an interim basis since Tenet’s resignation. McLaughlin issued a statement Tuesday congratulating Goss and describing him as “no stranger to the rigors and complexities of foreign intelligence in our democracy.”

Times staff writers Bob Drogin and Edwin Chen in Washington contributed to this report.