Title 10Armed ForcesRelease 119-73

§201 Certain intelligence officials: consultation and concurrence regarding appointments; evaluation of performance

Title 10 › Subtitle Subtitle A— - General Military Law › Part PART I— - ORGANIZATION AND GENERAL MILITARY POWERS › Chapter CHAPTER 8— - DEFENSE AGENCIES AND DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE FIELD ACTIVITIES › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER II— - MISCELLANEOUS DEFENSE AGENCY MATTERS › § 201

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary of Defense must consult with the Director of National Intelligence before recommending anyone to the President for Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency. If a job opens for the Director of the National Security Agency, the National Reconnaissance Office, or the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, the Secretary of Defense must get the Director of National Intelligence’s agreement before appointing or recommending someone, as provided in section 106(b) of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3041(b)). The Director of National Intelligence must also give the Secretary a yearly evaluation of how those three directors are performing their duties for the National Intelligence Program.

Full Legal Text

Title 10, §201

Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Before submitting a recommendation to the President regarding the appointment of an individual to the position of Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Secretary of Defense shall consult with the Director of National Intelligence regarding the recommendation.
(b)(1)In the event of a vacancy in a position referred to in paragraph (2), before appointing an individual to fill the vacancy or recommending to the President an individual to be nominated to fill the vacancy, the Secretary of Defense shall obtain the concurrence of the Director of National Intelligence as provided in section 106(b) of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3041(b)).
(2)Paragraph (1) applies to the following positions:
(A)The Director of the National Security Agency.
(B)The Director of the National Reconnaissance Office.
(C)The Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.
(c)(1)The Director of National Intelligence shall provide annually to the Secretary of Defense, for the Secretary’s consideration, an evaluation of the performance of the individuals holding the positions referred to in paragraph (2) in fulfilling their respective responsibilities with regard to the National Intelligence Program.
(2)The positions referred to in paragraph (1) are the following:
(A)The Director of the National Security Agency.
(B)The Director of the National Reconnaissance Office.
(C)The Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

A prior section 201 was renumbered section 202 of this title and subsequently repealed.

Amendments

2014—Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 113–291 substituted “(50 U.S.C. 3041(b))” for “(50 U.S.C. 403–6(b))”. 2009—Subsecs. (a), (b)(1), (c)(1). Pub. L. 111–84 repealed Pub. L. 110–417, § 932(a)(3)–(5). See 2008 Amendment notes below. 2008—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 110–181, § 931(a)(4), and Pub. L. 110–417, § 932(a)(3), amended subsec. (a) identically, substituting “Director of National Intelligence” for “Director of Central Intelligence”. Pub. L. 110–417, § 932(a)(3), was repealed by Pub. L. 111–84. Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 110–417, § 932(a)(4), which directed substitution of “Director of National Intelligence” for “Director of Central Intelligence”, could not be executed because of the intervening amendment by Pub. L. 110–181, § 931(c)(2)(A), and was repealed by Pub. L. 111–84. Pub. L. 110–181, § 931(c)(2)(A), amended par. (1) generally. Prior to amendment, par. (1) read as follows: “Before submitting a recommendation to the President regarding the appointment of an individual to a position referred to in paragraph (2), the Secretary of Defense shall seek the concurrence of the Director of Central Intelligence in the recommendation. If the Director does not concur in the recommendation, the Secretary may make the recommendation to the President without the Director’s concurrence, but shall include in the recommendation a statement that the Director does not concur in the recommendation.” Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 110–181, § 931(c)(2)(B), substituted “National Intelligence Program” for “National Foreign Intelligence Program”. Pub. L. 110–181, § 931(a)(5), and Pub. L. 110–417, § 932(a)(5), amended par. (1) identically, substituting “Director of National Intelligence” for “Director of Central Intelligence”. Pub. L. 110–417, § 932(a)(5), was repealed by Pub. L. 111–84. 2003—Subsecs. (b)(2)(C), (c)(2)(C). Pub. L. 108–136 substituted “National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency” for “National Imagery and Mapping Agency”. 1996—Pub. L. 104–201 substituted “Certain intelligence officials: consultation and concurrence regarding appointments; evaluation of performance” for “Consultation regarding appointment of certain intelligence officials” in section catchline and amended text generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “Before submitting a recommendation to the President regarding the appointment of an individual to the position of Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency or Director of the National Security Agency, the Secretary of Defense shall consult with the Director of Central Intelligence regarding the recommendation.”

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2009 Amendment Pub. L. 111–84, div. A, title X, § 1073(c), Oct. 28, 2009, 123 Stat. 2474, provided that the amendment made by section 1073(c)(10) is effective as of Oct. 14, 2008, and as if included in Pub. L. 110–417 as enacted.

Effective Date

of 1996 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 104–201 effective Oct. 1, 1996, see section 1124 of Pub. L. 104–201, set out as a note under section 193 of this title. Defense Intelligence Agency Pub. L. 102–190, div. A, title IX, § 921, Dec. 5, 1991, 105 Stat. 1452, as amended by Pub. L. 103–337, div. A, title X, § 1070(d)(1), Oct. 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 2858, provided that, during the period beginning on Dec. 5, 1991, and ending on Jan. 1, 1993, the Assistant Secretary of Defense referred to in section 138(b)(3) of this title could be assigned supervision of the Defense Intelligence Agency other than day-to-day operational control over the Agency, set forth the responsibilities of the Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency during the period beginning on Dec. 5, 1991, and ending on Jan. 1, 1993, and directed the Secretary of the Army and the Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency to take all required actions in order to transfer the Armed Forces Medical Intelligence Center and the Missile and Space Intelligence Center from the Department of the Army to the control of the Defense Intelligence Agency not later than Jan. 1, 1992. Joint Intelligence Center Pub. L. 102–190, div. A, title IX, § 923, Dec. 5, 1991, 105 Stat. 1453, provided that: “(a) Requirement for Center.—The Secretary of Defense shall direct the consolidation of existing single-service current intelligence centers that are located within the District of Columbia or its vicinity into a joint intelligence center that is responsible for preparing current intelligence assessments (including indications and warning). The joint intelligence center shall be located within the District of Columbia or its vicinity. As appropriate for the support of military operations, the joint intelligence center shall provide for and manage the collection and analysis of intelligence. “(b) Management.—The center shall be managed by the Defense Intelligence Agency in its capacity as the intelligence staff activity of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “(c) Responsiveness to Command Authorities.—The Secretary shall ensure that the center is fully responsive to the intelligence needs of the Secretary, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the commanders of the combatant commands.”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

10 U.S.C. § 201

Title 10Armed Forces

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73