Director of National Intelligence

The Director of National Intelligence (DNI) is appointed by the President of the United States of America, per the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, to lead the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), which in 2024 has about 1750 employees. The ODNI, headquartered in McLean, Virginia just outside Washington, D.C., was created to integrate foreign, military and domestic intelligence in defense of the homeland and of United States interests abroad after the 2001 9-11 Attack made it apparent that various United States Intelligence agencies had not shared information adequately to have prevented the attack even though enough information existed in various pockets here and there.

Congress specified that the Director and Principal Deputy Director cannot both be active-duty military officers and that one or the other should be a military intelligence officer, usually of four-star rank, or have extensive experience in military intelligence. 50 U.S.C. § 403-3a

Prior to establishment of the DNI, the head of the United States Intelligence Community was the Director of Central Intelligence (DCI). The DCI concurrently served as the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

Critics say compromises during the bill's crafting led to the establishment of a DNI whose powers are too weak to adequately lead, manage and improve the performance of the US Intelligence Community. In particular, the law left the United States Department of Defense in charge of the National Security Agency (NSA), the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. (The limited DNI role in leading the US Intelligence Community is discussed in the United States Intelligence Community|Intelligence Community article.)