In the final days before Donald Trump's presidential inauguration, a steady stream of loose ends from the Obama administration are getting tied up: pardons, pet programs, final words and comments from those who steered the alphabet soup of federal agencies.
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For outgoing CIA director John Brennan, the run-up to Trump's presidency has been contentious. A war of words erupted this week over the president-elect's links to Russia; the CIA and briefings on the much-discussed intelligence document that leaked unverified personal; and financial information about Trump.
When Brennan said Trump lacks appreciation for the work of intelligence officials, Trump responded as he usually does to his detractors, on Twitter.
What route the American intelligence community takes under Trump will be something to watch closely, but for Brennan, a native of North Bergen, New Jersey, the hope will be that the new administration doesn't roll back his diversity initiatives.
Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Brennan opened about how his background informed his policies and discussed why he rejects Trump's criticisms of the CIA. One comment in particular partly explains his own growth and desire to introduce more acceptance into the CIA:
During his tenure he has put particular emphasis on promoting the interests of gay, lesbian, and transgender officers. He was the first CIA director to attend an annual social gathering of LGBTQ employees and has been known to wear a rainbow lanyard around the office as a symbol of solidarity.
For Mr. Brennan, who said his perspective was informed by growing up “a white male from New Jersey,” diversity of backgrounds leads to better analysis, which in his estimation can prevent intelligence disasters. “I just think that having those varied perspectives really adds great color and dimension and diversity to how we look at problems,” he said. “It gets us away from groupthink.”
Reading between the lines a little bit, Brennan may have felt as though he grew up without much exposure to people who differed from himself in any significant way. Rising to the top of one of the most powerful organizations in the world ultimately forced him to acknowledge that ignoring diversity only limits the CIA's talent pool, which is a huge problem when your job is to make inroads with people of different races and ethnicities in countries around the world.
Brennan's three-year diversity and inclusion strategy at the CIA involved active recruitment of people of all backgrounds and sexual orientations. Embraced by President Obama, the initiative prompted a series of themed events during last year's LGBT Pride month.
Brennan will be replaced in Langley by Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kansas) pending his confirmation by the Senate.