Susan M. Gordon
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Susan M. Gordon served as
Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence The director of national intelligence (DNI) is a Cabinet of the United States#Current Cabinet and Cabinet-rank officials, cabinet-level Federal government of the United States, United States government intelligence and security official. The p ...
from August 7, 2017 until August 15, 2019. Prior to assuming that role, she was the Deputy Director of the
National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) is a combat support agency within the United States Department of Defense whose primary mission is collecting, analyzing, and distributing geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) to support national se ...
(NGA), having assumed the position on January 1, 2015. Before joining the NGA, she served as director of the
Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
's Information Operations Center and senior cyber adviser to the
Director of the Central Intelligence Agency The director of the Central Intelligence Agency (D/CIA) is a statutory office () that functions as the head of the Central Intelligence Agency, which in turn is a part of the United States Intelligence Community. The director reports to the D ...
. Gordon worked for the CIA for more than 25 years.


Early life and education

Gordon obtained a B.S. from
Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...
in 1980, majoring in
zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...
. While at Duke, she was a
power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...
and the only three-year captain for the
Duke Blue Devils women's basketball The Duke Blue Devils women's basketball team is the college basketball program representing Duke University in the Atlantic Coast Conference of NCAA Division I. Team history In 1974, Duke hired Emma Jean Howard to teach physical education and to ...
team in its history.


Career

Gordon joined the
Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
in 1980 where she worked as an analyst in the office of Scientific and Weapons Research Directorate of Intelligence. She later moved to the agency's
Directorate of Science & Technology The Directorate of Science and Technology (DS&T) is the branch of the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) tasked with collecting and analyzing information through technological means and developing technical systems to advance the CIA ...
, as well as the first director of the office of Advanced Analytic Tools (AAT), serving in that capacity from July 1996 to October 2000. Gordon was later Deputy Director for Support at the CIA. Prior to assuming deputy directorship of the NGA, Gordon served concurrently as director of the CIA's Information Operations Center and as the CIA director's senior advisor on cyber issues. President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
announced on July 28, 2019 that he intended to nominate Republican congressman
John Ratcliffe John Lee Ratcliffe (born October 20, 1965) is an American politician and attorney who has served as the ninth director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) since 2025. He previously served as the sixth director of national intelligence from ...
to replace
Dan Coats Daniel Ray Coats (born May 16, 1943) is an American politician, attorney, and diplomat. From 2017 to 2019, he served as the Director of National Intelligence in the Trump administration. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a Unite ...
as
Director of National Intelligence The director of national intelligence (DNI) is a Cabinet of the United States#Current Cabinet and Cabinet-rank officials, cabinet-level Federal government of the United States, United States government intelligence and security official. The p ...
(DNI), but withdrew Ratcliffe from consideration five days later. After Trump's announcement, it was not immediately clear if he would retain Gordon as acting DNI during Ratcliffe's confirmation process or if she would be retained in the agency upon Ratcliffe's confirmation. Two sources told
CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
there was an active search underway and that Gordon was not considered likely to be retained because she "is viewed by some in the administration as someone who is not going to be the type of political loyalist Trump wants in that role." Some Trump allies advised him Gordon was too close to former CIA director John Brennan, an outspoken Trump critic, an assertion Brennan dismissed. One Democratic congressional official told NBC News, "if he appoints anyone other than Sue Gordon as acting DNI, the Senate will raise holy hell". By law, the principal deputy succeeds the director upon a vacancy, but on August 8, 2019 Trump announced Gordon was resigning and appointed the director of the
National Counterterrorism Center The National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) is a United States government organization responsible for national and international counterterrorism efforts. It is based in Liberty Crossing in McLean, Virginia. The NCTC advises the United States ...
Joseph Maguire Joseph Maguire (born August 14, 1951) is an American officer who served as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center and Acting Director of National Intelligence under President Donald Trump. He retired from the United States Navy as a vi ...
as acting DNI. Since leaving the Intelligence Community, Gordon has become a member of the advisory board of Pallas Advisors, a national security strategic advisory firm based in Washington, D.C. and the board of
CACI CACI International Inc. (originally California Analysis Center, Inc., then Consolidated Analysis Center, Inc.) is an American multinational corporation, multinational professional services and information technology company headquartered in Nor ...
. She is also a consultant to
Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...
. In the book ''The Madman Theory'' by
Jim Sciutto James Ernest Sciutto (born March 10, 1970) is an American news anchor and former government official who has been the chief national security correspondent for CNN since September 2013. In this role he provides analysis on a variety of topics con ...
, Gordon stated in response to
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
challenging of 'loyalty' of people in the Intelligence Community that disagreed with him, "You can say you don't believe intelligence as much as you want. If you're questioning the integrity of the people that put that in front of you, I think that's very difficult because those people, in their own minds, would never lack integrity." In 2020, Gordon was named a candidate for either
Director of National Intelligence The director of national intelligence (DNI) is a Cabinet of the United States#Current Cabinet and Cabinet-rank officials, cabinet-level Federal government of the United States, United States government intelligence and security official. The p ...
or
Director of the Central Intelligence Agency The director of the Central Intelligence Agency (D/CIA) is a statutory office () that functions as the head of the Central Intelligence Agency, which in turn is a part of the United States Intelligence Community. The director reports to the D ...
as part of the Administrative
Presidency of Joe Biden Joe Biden's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 46th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Joe Biden, his inauguration on January 20, 2021, and ended on January 20, 2025. Biden, a member of the Democr ...
. As of 2024, Gordon serves on the advisory board of the
National Security Space Association The National Security Space Association (NSSA) is a 501(c)(3) organization () based in Arlington, Virginia in the United States of America. It describes its mission as guiding communication, strategy, and education of "national security space ad ...
. She also serves as vice chair of the board of trustees of the
MITRE Corporation The Mitre Corporation (stylized as The MITRE Corporation and MITRE) is an American not-for-profit organization with dual headquarters in Bedford, Massachusetts, and McLean, Virginia. It manages federally funded research and development centers ...
.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Susan M. Analysts of the Central Intelligence Agency Deputy directors of the Defense Intelligence Agency Duke University alumni Living people First Trump administration personnel United States deputy directors of national intelligence Year of birth missing (living people)