President Joe Biden Nominates Black Woman As No. 2 Intelligence Official

President Joe Biden nominated Stacey Dixon Wednesday to serve as the Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence.

Dixon, an intelligence technology expert, would be the first Black woman to hold the No. 2 intelligence position if confirmed. Her nomination represents the Biden administration’s commitment to emphasize technology in intelligence gathering. Dixon, who has spoken in the past about how the U.S. intelligence community needs to diversify its ranks, is well respected.

“Dr. Dixon possesses a deep knowledge of the intelligence tradecraft and understands the critical work intelligence professionals perform every day,” Avril Haines, the director of national intelligence told The New York Times.

The post has been vacated since August 2019, when Sue Gordon resigned after being passed over for the director of national intelligence by former president Donald Trump.

The U.S. is lagging behind China and Russia in technology and intelligence collection initiatives. According to her Linkedin, Dixon has a wealth of intelligence and government experience. She is the current Deputy Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGIA) and previously served the agency from 2010-2016. In between stints at the NGIA, she worked for the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA).

If nominated, Dixon, a Stanford University and Georgia Institute of Technology alum, will be tasked with convincing Congress to approve funding research and developing new technologies.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), who chairs the House Intelligence Committee told the Times Dixon “did outstanding work for the committee” and hopes she’s confirmed quickly.

Homeland Security Today reported Wednesday cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructure, elections, supply chains and more may be “more destructive and disruptive” in the near future.

The U.S. was part of a massive cyberattack by Russia that targeted several countries. The Biden administration is also working to protect the country’s power grid which is vulnerable to cyberattacks and electromagnetic pulse attacks.