intelligence community is to have someone with a civilian background in charge . '' The ranking Republican on the Intelligence Committe , Missouri Sen. Kit Bond , said he has reservations about Clapper . `` I believe he is too focused on the Defense Department issues and he has tried to block out efforts to give more authority to the DNI , '' Bond said . Bond 's counterpart on the House side , Rep. Pete Hoekstra , R-Michigan , also said he believes Clapper is the wrong person , because he is `` not forthcoming , open or transparent '' with Congress . Blair , a retired admiral , was pressured to resign as DNI because of differences with the White House over the scope of his role and turf wars with CIA Director Leon Panetta and other members of the intelligence community . One source familiar with Blair 's situation said that from the very beginning , `` the White House did not have the same view -LRB- as Blair -RRB- of what the DNI should be . '' That might be the crux of the problem . The law that created the position of DNI after the
Washington -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- President Obama plans to nominate retired Air Force Lt. Gen. James Clapper to be the new director of national intelligence , a senior U.S. defense official confirmed to CNN Friday . Clapper , now a top Pentagon intelligence official , would replace Dennis Blair , who resigned at the end of last month . The announcement will be made Saturday at the White House , the official said . If confirmed , Clapper will become the nation 's fourth DNI in the last five years . The position was created after the September 2001 terrorist attacks to oversee the 16 agencies of the U.S. intelligence community . Clapper , who retired from the Air Force in 1995 after a 32-year career , served as head of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency from September 2001 to June 2006 . He has served as the under secretary of defense for intelligence since April 2007 . Some political observers have indicated that Clapper 's prospects for confirmation on Capitol Hill , however , are questionable . California Sen. Dianne Feinstein , the Democratic head of the Senate Intelligence Committe , recently said the `` best thing for the U.S.