U.S. Senate confirms James Comey to be FBI next director

PanARMENIAN.Net - The U.S. Senate confirmed James B. Comey Jr. to be the next director of the FBI, giving the agency its first new head since before the September 2001 attacks.

Comey, the former No. 2 official in the Justice Department under President George W. Bush, was confirmed yesterday 93-1. Once sworn in, he will take over for Robert Mueller, who has led the agency since days before the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.

President Barack Obama praised the Senate vote, calling Comey “a natural leader of unquestioned integrity.”

“In the face of ever-changing threats, he has repeatedly demonstrated his commitment to defending America’s security and ideals,” Obama said in a statement issued by the White House. “The FBI will be in good hands long after I’ve left office.”

Comey, 52, will lead a law enforcement agency that has been changing to address increased threats posed by computer hackers and domestic terrorism, amid heightened public concerns over the reach and scope of classified surveillance programs disclosed by a former intelligence contractor.