Director of National Intelligence facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Director of National Intelligence
Seal of the director
Incumbent Tulsi Gabbard since February 12, 2025
Office of the Director of National Intelligence
Style	Madam Director (informal) The Honorable (formal)
Member of	Cabinet National Security Council Homeland Security Council
Reports to	President of the United States
Seat	Washington, D.C.
Appointer	President of the United States with Senate advice and consent
Constituting instrument	50 U.S.C. § 3023
Precursor	Director of Central Intelligence (DCI)
Formation	December 17, 2004
First holder	John Negroponte
Deputy	Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence (P/DDNI)

The Director of National Intelligence (DNI) is a very important government official in the United States. This person is in charge of all the different intelligence and security groups that work for the U.S. government. Think of them as the main leader for all the secret information gathering teams.

The DNI's main job is to lead the United States Intelligence Community (IC). This community includes 18 different agencies, like the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). All these groups share their important information with the DNI.

The DNI also gives advice to the President of the United States and other top leaders about important security matters. Every morning, the DNI helps create a secret report called the President's Daily Brief (PDB). This report contains the most important intelligence from all the agencies for the President to read. The President chooses the DNI, and the United States Senate must approve the choice.

Over time, the DNI's role has become even stronger. For example, in 2008, President George W. Bush gave the DNI more power to guide intelligence work. Later, President Barack Obama made the DNI responsible for protecting people who report serious problems within the intelligence community. Since 2017, the DNI has been part of the President's official Cabinet. This means the DNI attends important meetings with the President and other top officials. Currently, Tulsi Gabbard holds this important position.

History of the DNI Role

Why Was the DNI Created?

Before the DNI job existed, the leader of U.S. intelligence was called the Director of Central Intelligence (DCI). This person was also the head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) at the same time.

After the terrible events of September 11, 2001, a special group called the 9/11 Commission looked into what happened. They found that the different intelligence agencies weren't sharing information well enough. To fix this, the Commission suggested creating a new DNI position. This new role would focus only on leading and connecting all the intelligence groups.

How the DNI Position Began

After much discussion, the U.S. Congress passed a law in 2004 called the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act. President George W. Bush signed it into law on December 17, 2004. This law officially created the DNI position. It also made sure that the DNI could not also be the head of the CIA or any other intelligence agency. This way, the DNI could focus on leading the entire intelligence community.

Some people worried that the DNI's powers weren't strong enough. For example, the law kept the United States Department of Defense in charge of some very big intelligence agencies, like the National Security Agency (NSA).

The law also suggests that either the DNI or their main deputy should have military experience. This helps ensure they understand military intelligence needs.

Who Has Been the DNI?

The very first Director of National Intelligence was John Negroponte. President George W. Bush appointed him in 2005. The Senate approved his appointment, and he started work on April 21, 2005.

Since then, several people have held this important job.

• Mike McConnell became the second DNI in 2007.
• In 2009, President Barack Obama nominated Dennis C. Blair as the third DNI.
• Later, James Clapper became the fourth DNI in 2010 and served for many years.
• During President Donald Trump's first term, Dan Coats and John Ratcliffe served as DNI.
• The seventh DNI was Avril Haines, who started in 2021. She was the first woman to hold this position.
• The current DNI is Tulsi Gabbard, who was confirmed in February 2025.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence

The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 also created the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). This office helps the DNI do their job. The ODNI's main goal is to make sure all the different intelligence groups work together smoothly. They help combine information from foreign countries, the military, and within the U.S. to protect the country.

The ODNI has about 1,750 employees and is located in McLean, Virginia. Over the years, the ODNI has changed to better help the DNI lead and connect all the intelligence agencies.

How the ODNI is Organized

The ODNI has several important parts that help it function:

• There are leaders like the Principal Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer.
• Two main "directorates" focus on different areas, like putting all the intelligence together or looking at new ideas and plans.
• Five "mission centers" focus on specific threats, such as stopping the spread of dangerous weapons or fighting terrorism.
• Four "oversight offices" make sure everything is done correctly and legally, protecting people's privacy and ensuring fair treatment.

Organization Seals

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  NCBC

• 

  FMIC

• 

  NCTC

• 

  NCSC

• 

  ICIG

• 

  CTIIC

United States Intelligence Community

The Director of National Intelligence leads the entire U.S. Intelligence Community. This community is made up of many different agencies that gather and analyze information to protect the United States. Here are some of the main groups:

Directors of National Intelligence

This table shows the people who have served as the Director of National Intelligence since the position was created. This role took over from the Director of Central Intelligence.

No.	Image	Name	Start	End	Duration	President(s)
1		Negroponte, JohnJohn Negroponte	April 21, 2005	February 13, 2007	1 year, 298 days		Bush, George W.George W. Bush (2001–2009)
2		McConnell, MikeMike McConnell	February 13, 2007	January 27, 2009	1 year, 349 days
–		Burgess, RonaldRonald Burgess Acting	January 27, 2009	January 29, 2009	2 days		Obama, BarackBarack Obama (2009–2017)
3		Blair, DennisDennis Blair	January 29, 2009	May 28, 2010	1 year, 119 days
–		Gompert, DavidDavid Gompert Acting	May 28, 2010	August 5, 2010	69 days
4		Clapper, JamesJames Clapper	August 5, 2010	January 20, 2017	6 years, 168 days
–		Dempsey, MikeMike Dempsey Acting	January 20, 2017	March 16, 2017	55 days		Trump, DonaldDonald Trump (2017–2021)
5		Coats, DanDan Coats	March 16, 2017	August 15, 2019	2 years, 152 days
–		Maguire, JoeJoe Maguire Acting	August 15, 2019	February 20, 2020	189 days
–		Grenell, RickRick Grenell Acting	February 20, 2020	May 26, 2020	96 days
6		Ratcliffe, JohnJohn Ratcliffe	May 26, 2020	January 20, 2021	239 days
–		Shiao, LoraLora Shiao Acting	January 20, 2021	January 21, 2021	1 day		Biden, JoeJoe Biden (2021–2025)
7		Haines, AvrilAvril Haines	January 21, 2021	January 20, 2025	3 years, 365 days
–		Dixon, StaceyStacey Dixon Acting	January 20, 2025	January 25, 2025	5 days		Trump, DonaldDonald Trump (2025–present)
–		Shiao, LoraLora Shiao Acting	January 25, 2025	February 12, 2025	18 days
8		Gabbard, TulsiTulsi Gabbard	February 12, 2025	Incumbent	131 days

Who Takes Over if the DNI Can't Work?

If the Director of National Intelligence is unable to do their job, there's a specific order of people who can step in. This ensures that the important work of the intelligence community always continues.

• The first person to take over is the Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence.
• Next is the Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Intelligence Integration.
• Then, the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center.
• After that, the Director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center.
• Finally, the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community.

See also