§3026 Deputy Directors of National Intelligence

Summary

The President must appoint a Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence, and the Senate must approve that person. If the job is empty, the Director of National Intelligence must recommend someone to the President. Nominees must have strong national security and management experience. The Principal Deputy cannot hold any other intelligence job while serving. The Principal Deputy helps the Director and steps in to act as the Director when the Director is absent, disabled, or the Director’s job is vacant. The Director may appoint up to four other Deputy Directors and give them duties or follow what the law says. No more than one of the two top positions (the Director and the Principal Deputy) may be an active-duty commissioned military officer. Congress says it is usually desirable that one of those two be an active military officer or have military intelligence experience. An active-duty officer in those jobs is not under the Secretary of Defense, does not control Defense personnel just because they are an officer, keeps their military rank and benefits, and continues to get military pay and allowances; the Director’s office must reimburse the Defense Department for that pay.