President Bush is preparing to issue an executive order that would immediately grant more power to the director of central intelligence, designating him to fill much of the role envisioned for a future national intelligence director, according to senior government officials who have been briefed on the plan.
The order, to be issued as soon as this weekend, would be cast as a first step toward putting into effect recommendations of the Sept. 11 commission, whose call for a new, more powerful national intelligence chief would require congressional legislation.
The question of how much authority should be given to a new intelligence chief remains the subject of sharp debate among members of the Sept. 11 commission, members of Congress and the White House.
The interim action by the White House would strengthen the hand of the director of central intelligence, who heads the CIA and has nominal authority over all over intelligence agencies but whose actual powers beyond the CIA have been limited.
The plan was described by four senior government officials who have been briefed on it, including those from Congress and the executive branch.
The planned announcement, which probably will precede next week’s Republican National Convention, would be part of a package including at least two other executive orders, the government officials said.
One would create a National Counterterrorism Center, with authority to direct operations in the realms of diplomacy, the military, intelligence, law enforcement and financial matters, and reporting to the director of central intelligence. The other order would be designed to promote greater information-sharing between intelligence agencies.
The officials said some details of the White House plans, including the extent of any new budget authority to be given to the director of central intelligence as part of the executive order, were still being debated within the administration.
They said they understood that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was reluctant to limit the budgetary power wielded by the Pentagon, which controls an estimated 85 percent of the country’s $40 billion intelligence budget.
John McLaughlin, the deputy director of central intelligence, has served as acting director of central intelligence since the resignation July 11 of George Tenet.
Bush has nominated Rep. Porter Goss (R-Fla.) to become director of central intelligence, and Goss’ nomination is to be taken up next month by the Senate Intelligence Committee.
Any new executive order would affect any acting or permanent intelligence chief.